Blue
by Lady of the Spirit
Summary: Tora is the daughter of a Water Tribe member of the White Lotus and a Fire bender. She bends both fire and water. Am I forgetting anything? Oh, right. When she's thirteen, the White Lotus sends her to the Southern Water Tribe because she's 'distracting' her father from his duties. After two years, two other Water Tribe members discover Aang, the Avatar. T for safety.
1. Chapter 1

Blue

My name is Tora. My father is from the southern water tribe, but he married my mother, who was fire nation, and was banished from his tribe. I inherited my mother's golden eyes and pale skin, but I got my dark brown hair from my father. Dad says that I look a lot like my mother, but I got a certain way of thinking that dad says that I got from him, along with stubbornness. I got my temper from mom. My father isn't a bender, but I got waterbending from his side of the family, and firebending from my mother's side. So, I can bend two elements.

At least, I could, until...

Never mind.

That's really all you need to know about me.

Oh, right. Forgot something.

~~Water~~

_It started when I was thirteen, almost fourteen. I had been reading a book in my house's library. My father was in his room, doing whatever it is that members of the White Lotus do._

_Right, forgot that. My dad is a member of the White Lotus._

_So, I was reading in my room, and I left to get a drink of water from the kitchen. I had been passing my father's room when I overheard him talking to some other members of the White Lotus._

"_She needs to leave." I knew that voice. It belonged to Jeong Jeong, the firebender of the white lotus._

"_Jeong Jeong's right, Piandao." That was Pakku, who was from the northern water tribe._

"_She's my daughter, Jeong Jeong!" that was dad._

_It took me a few seconds to realize they were talking about me. When I did, I pressed my ear against the door, not daring enough to look through the crack in the door._

"_Iroh had a son, and he didn't have to leave." Dad again._

"_Tora is distracting you from your duties to the White Lotus. Lu-Ten knew about the organization, but Iroh managed to balance both. She has to leave."_

"_Iroh basically withdraws from the White Lotus completely when Lu-Ten dies, then he goes with his banished nephew on a fool's mission to find the avatar, whom we all know is long dead, and you say I'm shirking my responsibilities?" Dad demanded in annoyance. Silence._

"_Where are you sending her?" Dad asked quietly._

_My eyes widened, and I drew back from the door. Dad wasn't even trying to fight them off. He was going to send me away._

_I heard them coming to the door, and I ran back to my room as fast as I could._

_As soon as I jumped back into my chair and opened my book, Dad came in, looking sad._

_I looked up, trying to control my gasps for breath._

_Dad forced a smile. "Tora," he said. "You're going for... a trip."_

_I forced a smile, trying to act innocent. "Where?"_

"_To the Southern Water Tribe."_

_As much as I didn't want to leave, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of excitement. I was finally going to see the place where my father grew up and talked about with such a longing look in his eyes._

_I nodded and stood up. "When do I leave?"_

"_Tonight."_

"_For how long?"_

_He didn't say anything. Then he left._

_I picked up a small bag and started stuffing my clothes into it. It didn't matter if they got wrinkled or ripped. I didn't care._

_Fat, dad's butler, came into the room holding a light blue parka. "This is for you. You're going to need It." he said._

_I nodded._

_A few hours later, I had all my stuff packed and I was standing at the door. Dad wasn't saying anything. We stood in silence for a few seconds, before I hugged him fiercely. He hugged back. We stood there for a few seconds, before he let go. I looked at him, and I could see him trying to sum up all the words he wanted to say in his head._

"_Bye, dad." I finally choked out._

"_I love you, Tora. Don't you ever forget that. Don't ever forget who you are." he pulled a small pouch from his sleeve. It was dark blue, and covered in beads. "Take this. Your mother wanted you to have it."_

_~~Water~~_

_Later, I was standing on a boat that would take me to the water tribe. I didn't know any of the people on deck, so i didn't talk to anyone. I just stood on the deck and looked at the horizon, still wishing I could see the fire nation._

_It occurred to me that I hadn't opened my pouch yet, so I did. Inside was a necklace. I've seen it before on my mother in paintings. It was a gold chain, with three red gemstones inlaid in it. Two big ones and one large one in the middle. Dangling from the gold where each gemstone was, were three gold raindrops. The gemstones were fire rubies. Fire rubies were said to grow hot whenever danger was near. Of course, it was a superstition._

_There was a note inside the pouch. From Dad. It didn't say that the White Lotus had wanted me to leave because I was 'distracting' him from his duties. It only said that my mother wore the necklace for their wedding, and that it was her dream to see me wear it at my own._

_I felt a tear slide down my cheek and splatter on the letter. I let all my tears out, and when I finished crying, I put on the necklace._

_~~Water~~_

_After a few hours, it started getting cold, so I put on my parka. After a few more hours, we had reached the peak of the South Pole, and I had to walk the rest of the way. The captain gave me a letter, and told me to give it to the village elder. I nodded, and took off without a word._

_I got cold after a few minutes of walking, and I took off my glove and lit a fire in my hand._

"_YEEEAAAAHHHH!"_

_I screamed and blasted fire towards where the scream had come from. It was a boy dressed in blue, with a weird hairstyle. It was kind of like a ponytail, except that the rest of his hair was all shaved off. In his hand was something that I think was supposed to be a club._

_My fire had blasted the boy into the snow, and I rushed over to him. "Are you okay?" I asked worriedly. If I was going to be accepted by the Tribe, the last thing I needed was for me to kill someone._

_The boy shook his head. Then he saw me, and attacked again._

"_WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I screamed. He wasn't the best fighter, so I just dodged every one of his swings with his club._

"_Attacking you!" He yelled at me._

"_WHY?!"_

_He looked at me as if I was stupid. "'Cause your Fire Nation!"_

_That really ticked me off. I grabbed his wrist while he was in mid-swing, and shoved him into the snow again. "Who are you?"_

_He puffed his chest, trying to look heroic. As heroic anyone could look while they were stuck in a snow bank. "I'm Sokka, eldest and only son of Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe!" he stated proudly._

_I rolled my eyes. "Yeah. Well, I'm Tora, only daughter and only child of Arrluk of the Southern Water Tribe and Akemi of the Fire Nation, and the only known bender of both fire and water."_

"_AH-HA! I KNEW- wait, did you say Arrluk?"_

"_Yes, why?"_

_Sokka crossed his arms. "He was banished from both Water Tribe's a long time ago, along with any of his descendants! So, get out, you fire/water-bender hybrid!"_

_I jabbed one of my fingers into his chest. "Listen, you. You're not the boss of me, and you're not the elder of your tribe, but if you are, I feel really sorry for them. I didn't come all this way to have you tell me that I'm not welcome here, so suck it up and take me to your village!" I snapped at him, losing patience._

"_How do i know you're not trying to lead an attack on my village?" He exclaimed, looking a bit worried but trying not to show it._

"_Do you see any weapons on me? The Fire Nation wouldn't have a spy go in without any weapons, whether or not they were firebenders." I said, spreading my arms and turning around slowly, so he could see I didn't have any weapons._

"_I'm not bringing you to my village." I rolled my eyes. Fine, let him leave, I would just follow him from a distance._

"_Whatever." I stated. I turned around, acting like I was leaving. I heard him yell, "Yeah, that'll teach you to mess with the Water Tribe!" I rolled my eyes and resisted the urge to turn around and firebend at him again. As soon as I turned a corner around a large snow bank, I poked my head out, waiting for him to leave so I could follow. After a few minutes of watching him poke around in the snow, looking for... something, he finally left, and I followed him._

_Soon we reached the village. I blinked when I saw it. I had been expecting something amazing. It was just a rundown little village. It looked like an earth kingdom town I had once seen, except it was much colder and the houses were made of snow and ice._

_As I reached the 'gates', Sokka had turned around and saw me walking toward him._

"_What are you doing here?" he demanded, pulling out his club._

"_I followed you. Obviously." I said, rolling my eyes._

_He looked really annoyed. "Well, get out!"_

"_Make me." I said, smirking._

_He glared at me, and by now a small group of mostly women and really small children had formed around us. An old lady and a girl that looked my age came up to us, and asked what was going on._

"_This firebender-slash-waterbender wants to stay here! Tell her she can't, Gran-Gran!" Sokka said in a whiny voice._

"_You're a waterbender!" The girl gasped, turning around and staring at me in disbelief._

"_Yup." I said. To prove it, I waved my hand and turned the snow around my feet to water. Then, I turned the water back into snow._

"_But she's a firebender!" Sokka said babyishly. "And she's Arrluk's daughter!"_

_The villagers gasped in shock. I stared at them in confusion, and then turned to the old lady._

"_My father told me to give you this letter." I explained, handing it to her. She looked it over, and when Sokka tried to read it she pushed his face away. When she had finished, she looked at me._

"_My granddaughter will take you to our house." She said, and turned away. Sokka's mouth dropped open in shock._

_The girl smiled at me, and grabbed my elbow and pulled me along. "My name's Katara. I'm a waterbender too! What's your name?"_

_I smiled back at her. "My name's Tora."_

_Katara brought me to a small igloo. "So, are you really a firebender and a waterbender?" she asked me._

"_Yep. I got waterbending from dad's side, and firebending from mom's." I said, touching my necklace._

_Katara noticed the action. "Is that your mother's necklace?"_

_I nodded. "It was a betrothal gift from my father. She wore it for her wedding, and it was her dream to see me wear it at mine."_

"_It's pretty." she commented. "Your mother must love seeing you wear it." I noticed she looked a little sad when she said it._

_I looked at the ground. "My mom died when I was five. She was sick for a really long time. I was too young to remember it."_

_Katara turned around and hugged me. I stiffened, then relaxed into it. When she pulled away, she pulled down the neckline of her parka to reveal a water tribe engagement necklace. It had a symbol on it similar to the Water Tribe emblem._

"_This necklace belonged to my mother. It belonged to Gran-Gran, and she gave it to her daughter in law, who gave it to me."_

"_It's beautiful." I said in amazement._

"_My mother was killed in the last Fire Nation raid." she said sadly. "This necklace is all I have left of her."_

_I felt the familiar twinge of guilt whenever someone mentioned how their lives had been destroyed by the Fire Nation. My people._

"_I'm so sorry." I said honestly._

_She smiled a little bit. "It's not your fault."_

_But I knew that wasn't true. It was my fault. Not directly, of course. But it was my fault. It was my Nation's fault._

"_So, you're a waterbender too?" I asked, changing the subject. I thought all the Southern Water Benders were extinct. Hopefully, the Fire Lord wouldn't order another raid here, like during Fire Lord Azulon's reign._

"_Yes. Not a very good one, but yes." She said, shrugging. I set my bag down on the ground._

"_If you want, I could teach you some of the stuff I know." I offered. She looked at me with wide eyes._

"_Really?" she asked in amazement._

"_Yeah. I'm not very good either, since there's not really anyone to teach me in the Fire Nation. But I could teach you the stuff I know." It's true; there wasn't anyone to teach me. Dad wasn't a bender, he only inherited it from his mother. Pakku wouldn't teach me because I was a girl._

_Katara flung her arms around me, nearly knocking me over. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed. She held me at arm's length. "I just know we're going to be good friends." She said, smiling at me._

"_I hope you're right." I said, smiling back._

_As i walked out of the igloo, i nearly ran into Sokka, who grabbed my arm and pulled me behind the igloo._

"_Look, I don't care what my grandmother thinks. I don't trust you, and I think you're here to send messages to the Fire Nation." he stated, glaring at me._

_I crossed my arms. "Believe whatever you want, I don't care. But you'd better get used to me, because I'm going to be here for a while." I retorted._

~~Water~~

Over time, Sokka and the rest of the villagers came to trust me, and they became sort of my family.

And I had all but forgotten my father and what he did.


	2. The Air Creatures

IN WHICH TORA IS LICKED BY A CREATURE FROM WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

**Sorry, I forgot the disclaimer in the prologue. Okay, first story on fanfiction, kind of a big deal for me. If you like it, review and tell me to keep it up. If you don't like it, I'll still write it, just because I want to. If you think Tora is a mary-sue, tell me what her sue traits are, and I'll try to fix them.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters besides Tora and her mother, and future oc's that will come in future chapters. Nickelodeon owns everything except Tora, her mother, and the idea for Tora's role in the story.**

It had been about two years since I had come to the water tribe. During that time, I had managed to get the whole tribe on my side. Even Sokka, the one who had been suspicious of me since I had arrived, warmed up to me eventually. I still had my necklace, and I never took it off, except to take a bath, because I knew that the fire rubies would lose their magical abilities.

I had changed my fashion style. Now I wore a long sleeve white shirt with slight puffs at the end of the sleeves, (a white version of Suki's shirt) long dark brown pants, and black boots. I also had a light blue parka, like Katara's, only a darker blue. Usually I kept my hair tied back, which I hated, but I hated getting my hair caught in my parka even more. It got all electrified and stuck up.

Anyway, I'm getting off topic here.

So, I was in the village, hunting for fish on the edge of the ice. Sokka and Katara were on a similar mission, only they were hunting in Sokka's canoe. I loved hunting by myself. I could practice firebending on the fish, and no one could see me. And if the fish were killed, then I would have dinner. Since Gran-Gran (she had made me call her that since I was living in the village, and pretty much everybody called her that) usually made me go fishing with Sokka and Katara, I couldn't practice my firebending as much. That was probably what she intended.

None of the villagers, even Katara, were comfortable with my firebending. Sokka sometimes tried to get me to stop firebending permanently, since I was living on a block of ice, but I held my ground and argued back that asking me not to firebend was like asking me to stop breathing. It's how I live. Same with Katara and her waterbending.

Speaking of which, Katara hadn't gotten any better at waterbending. Well, she had gotten better, but not much. I had a basic principle of the art, being around Pakku for almost fourteen years, but Katara and I both needed a master to teach us. I had more time on my hands to practice, but Katara was basically like the princess of the tribe, since her dad is the chief, and had millions of chores to do and basically had no time to practice.

I noticed a small green fish swimming around, and immediately shot fire at it. The fish managed to get away from that, but I stabbed my spear in the water and impaled it. It floundered around for a few seconds before going limp.

"Sorry about that." I apologized to it, lifting it out of the water. "Natural order of things. I have an entire village to feed, so you're not dying in vain. Don't worry." I know it seems silly, apologizing to something that was dead, but it was just in my nature. I hate killing things.

Suddenly, there was a loud exploding noise. But from the sound of it, it was pretty far away. I looked up, and saw, to my shock, there was a giant beam of light blue light shooting from out of the distance.

I gasped in amazement, then saw a bunch of tiger seals roaring at the beam of light.

"Are you seeing this?" I demanded at them. Not getting an answer (not that I was expecting one) I ran off toward the village, hoping Gran-Gran could explain this.

When I got back to the village, I nearly ran into one of the villagers, who had stopped and stared at the beam of light. Everyone had stopped and stared. Soon, the beam of light faded and everyone stopped staring and went back to whatever they had been doing.

I saw Gran-Gran still staring out onto the horizon. I ran over to her. "Gran-Gran, what was that?" I asked, breathless.

She didn't answer. "So, he's back." She murmured. "It's about time."

"Who's back? What are you talking about?" I demanded, but was ignored. "Gran-Gran!" I was ignored again.

~~Water~~

"Finally." Prince Zuko, the banished prince of the fire nation, stared at the beam of light. He turned toward his uncle Iroh, who sat a few feet away from him, playing a game with wooden cards at a small table. "Uncle, do you realize what this means?"

"I won't get to finish my game?" Iroh asked. With Iroh, it was hard to tell if he was sarcastic or honest.

"It means my search - it's about to come to an end."

Iroh groaned.

Zuko continued, apparently not hearing Iroh. "That light came from an incredibly powerful source. It has to be him!"

"Or it's just the celestial lights." Iroh pointed out. "We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko. I don't want you to get too excited over nothing. Please, sit. Why don't you enjoy a cup of calming jasmine tea?" He smiled, gesturing to his teacup and teapot next to him.

Zuko exploded in anger. "I don't need any calming tea! I need to capture the Avatar. Helmsman, head a course for the light!"

I'm going home. Was the only thought that crossed his mind.

~~Water~~

I walked back into the village, and saw Sokka and Katara walking toward the igloo.

"Back so soon? I was almost starting to miss Sokka." I said teasingly. Katara smiled, but turned serious.

"We found someone frozen in the ice." She said. I raised an eyebrow.

"Does it have something to do with the beam of white light?" I asked. She nodded. "Good, someone can explain that to me."

Katara started explaining the whole thing to me. Apparently, they had been fishing, and the canoe got crushed by icebergs, then Sokka majorly ticked Katara off, and she started beating up an iceberg, and the iceberg cracked open and an airbender boy appeared out of the iceberg, not frozen and completely alive, along with this giant fluffy monster with an arrow on its head.

"Sound's completely believable." I said sarcastically.

"It's true!" She insisted. "I can prove it!"

"Lead the way, she-who-royally-beats-up-icebergs-and-produces-arrow-boys-and-arrow-monsters." I said sarcastically, gesturing dramatically. Katara rolled her eyes and grabbed my wrist and dragged me along.

~~Water~~

"Okay, I believe you now."

I was standing with Katara in front of a giant fluffy white monster with six legs, horns, and a giant brown arrow along its back.

"Told you." Katara said smugly.

"Well, can you blame me?" I asked, walking over to the creature and stroking its head. It was really soft.

The creature turned its head and licked me, yanking me off the ground, and I fell flat on my face. "Jeez!" I yelled, pulling myself off the ground.

Katara laughed. "Appa likes you."

"And what, pray tell, is an Appa?"

Katara gestured toward the creature. "Aang called him a sky bison."

"Huh, I thought they were extinct." I said thoughtfully. Then again, southern water tribe benders were supposed to be extinct too, but Katara was standing in front of me. Of course, that was a different matter altogether…

I was snapped out of my thoughts by Appa making a weird noise. I heard Sokka's VERY LOUD voice coming around the corner. "That thing better not be sneezing again, because I just got the last of that stuff out of my hair!" As soon as Sokka came around, green snot shot out of Appa's nose and splattered all over Sokka.

"Awww, man!" He whined.

Katara and I burst out laughing as Sokka walked away again, presumably to wash himself again.

"I love you, Appa." I said, still laughing as I pet him. Appa made a loud happy groaning noise. Several of the village kids came running over too us, and started climbing over Appa. I was worried that he would get annoyed and hurt them, but I didn't have to worry. Appa was very gentle.

Katara told me she was going to wake up Aang (the arrow boy) and I gathered the children together. They all started protesting as I pulled them away from Appa, but I told them that there would be extra seaweed cookies and sea squid soup for them if they cooperated. That shut them up.

A few minutes later, the whole village was standing in a group in the middle of the village. It was a pretty small tribe, due to the fact that the water benders, who made up most of the population, had been taken away during Azulon's reign, and the fact that all the men of the tribe were away fighting.

Katara appeared at the entrance of her igloo, with a boy following her. I assumed this was arrow boy. His clothes were orange and yellow, and he was bald, and had a blue arrow tattooed on his head that I presumed ran down his back, the back of his hands, and on his feet. An airbender. Of course, he was probably an imposter.

"Aang, this is the entire village. Entire village, Aang." Katara introduced him to us, then us to him.

Aang bowed, but the rest of the villagers stared at him and pulled back, holding the kids closer.

"Why are they looking at me like that?" he asked Katara. He started checking his clothes. "Did Appa sneeze on me?"

I smiled.

"Well, no one has seen an airbender in a hundred years." Gran-Gran said, cutting through the crowds. "We thought they were extinct until my granddaughter and grandson found you."

"'Extinct'?" Aang repeated, looking shocked.

"Aang, this is my grandmother." Katara introduced Aang to Gran-Gran.

"Call me Gran-Gran." She said unemotionally. I laughed.

"Aang, this is my friend, Tora. She's a waterbender and a firebender." Katara said, gesturing to me.

"A waterbender and a firebender?" Aang said in amazement. I nodded. "That's so cool! How did you do that?"

"My dad was part of the water tribe, so he had waterbending in his blood. Mom was part of the fire nation, and she was a firebender." I explained. Aang nodded, still staring at me. It was kind freaking me out.

"What is this, a weapon?" Sokka brought me out of my thoughts by grabbing Aang's staff. "You can't stab anything with this!"

I stepped forward and snatched it away from Sokka. I promptly jabbed him in the stomach and hit his head with it, making him fall over. "There, it's a weapon."

Aang laughed. "It's not for stabbing, it's for airbending." He said, opening the staff, revealing two red wings made out of paper, I'm assuming…

"Magic trick! Do it again!" Lili, one of the little girls, exclaimed in delight.

"Not magic, airbending!" Aang said calmly. "It lets me control the air currents around my glider and fly."

"You know, last time I checked, humans can't fly!" Sokka snarked at Aang. I rolled my eyes at his skeptism.

"Check again!" Aang said, launching himself into the air. He started doing all these crazy loops and gliding in the air.

You know how I called him an imposter before? I take it back.

All of a sudden, Aang slammed into Sokka's 'watchtower', which was really just a large pile of snow.

"My watchtower!" Sokka yelled, all three of us running over to where Aang fell. Sokka tried to fix his tower when Aang pulled himself out of it, and ended up covered in snow.

"Great, you're an airbender, Katara's a waterbender, Tora's a water/fire-bending hybrid, together you can waste time all day long." Sokka said sarcastically. I glared at him. No matter what I did to make him stop, he kept calling me a hybrid.

"You're a waterbender!" Aang said in amazement.

"Well, sort of. Not yet." Katara said modestly.

"Yeah, not much for a firebender to do around here in the frozen tundra." I said, running a hand through my hair.

Gran-Gran came over to us. "All right, no more playing. Come one, Katara, you have chores." I sighed. Gran-Gran just didn't get the fact that Katara would never get better at bending if she didn't practice. No matter how many times I argued with her about it, she never changed her mind. It's almost as if she didn't want Katara to learn waterbending.

I turned back to Aang and saw him with his tongue stuck to his staff, which was frozen. "Sthee? Now my tongue ith thuck to my sthaff." Aang said, slurring since his tongue was incapable of moving. I laughed when the kid next to him yanked on it, but Aang's tongue didn't move.

"Need some help with that?" I asked him. Aang looked at me, and nodded. "Fair warning. I haven't been practicing firebending for a while, so I might…"

"AAHH!"

"Burn you." I finished lamely. "Sorry!" I yelled as Aang jumped up and down in pain, holding his tongue, which now had a small black mark on it.

~~Water~~

"Again."

Zuko blasted fire from his hands at the guards, but missed. Then the guards attacked Zuko with blasts of fire from their fists, but Zuko dodged. He then back flipped over the guards and landed behind them.

"Ha! Heeya!"

Iroh sighed and stood up.

"No! Power in firebending comes from the breath. Not the muscles." Iroh explained to his nephew. "The breath becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire." Iroh demonstrated, and released a controlling plume of flame that burst in front of Zuko, but didn't hit him. "Get it right this time." Iroh ordered.

"Enough." Zuko snapped. "I've been drilling this sequence all day. Teach me the next set. I'm more than ready."

'No, you are impatient. You have yet to master your basics. Drill it again!"

Zuko blasted one of the guards backwards with a burst of fire. "The sages tell us that the Avatar is the last airbender. He must be over a hundred years old by now. He's had a century to master the four elements. I'll need more than basic firebending to defeat him. You WILL teach me the advanced set!" He yelled, getting in his uncle's face.

"Very well. But first I must finish my roast duck." Iroh picked up his bowl of roast duck and started stuffing it into his mouth with chopsticks.

~~Water~~

When Aang stopped hopping around, I had to go hunt for more dinner, and Aang joined me.

While I held a spear in one hand, Aang asked me, "Why aren't you guy's vegetarians?"

I turned around and stared at him. "Well, it might be hard to believe, but given the fact we live in the South Pole, there isn't much vegetation around here." I said sarcastically.

"Right, stupid question."

"Mmm-hmm."

I saw a fish and raised my hand, making a globe of water rise out of the water with a fish inside. I dropped it onto the snow and stabbed it with my spear, and saw Aang wince. "Sorry about that." I apologized to both Aang and the fish. "But the village needs to eat, and next to Sokka I'm the best hunter." I finished to Aang.

"It's fine." Aang said. He got bored after a few minutes and started 'helping' me. By helping, I mean sending spheres of air into the sky, then blasting air in the water in the hopes that fish would blast out of it.

After Aang dried me off with his airbending for the fifth time, I decided it was time to go home. On the way back, Aang noticed my necklace.

"That's really pretty!" He exclaimed, staring at it.

"Thanks. It was my mothers." I smiled. I knew what he was going to ask next.

"Why doesn't your mother wear it?" Called it!

"My mother died when I was five. She got very sick." I explained.

Aang's continuous smile disappeared. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I'm used to it." I said reassuringly.

"So, what about your dad? Is he here?" I winced. That was not something I liked to talk about.

"My dad's back in the fire nation. I was sent here two years ago."

"Why?"

I sighed. "My dad's part of this… club, I guess. And the rest of the members thought I was distracting him from his duties to the club, so I was sent away. I came here, and I've never left." I said sadly, kicking the snow with my black boot.

"I can relate to that." Aang muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing!"

I raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. When we reached the village, Aang disappeared somewhere, and I found Sokka training his 'warriors'.

"Now men, it's important that you show no fear when you face a firebender. In the Water Tribe, we fight to the last man standing. For without courage, how can we call ourselves men?" Sokka asked his warriors, who were actually just a bunch of six year olds.

"I gotta pee!" One of them said, raising his hand. I snorted.

"Listen! Until your fathers return from the war, they're counting on you to be the men of this tribe. And that means no potty breaks!" Sokka exclaimed, sounding annoyed. You think he'd be used to this. It happens every time.

"But I really gotta go!"

"Okay…" Sokka sighed in exasperation. "Who else has to go?"

Every one of them raised their hands, which made Sokka slap his forehead and made me laugh.

"Have you seen Aang?" Katara asked, coming over to us as the warriors wandered off. "Gran-Gran said he disappeared over an hour ago."

"Well, he came hunting with me, but I haven't seen him since, and that was about," I paused, thinking. "Five minutes ago."

Aang suddenly came out of the 'bathroom' which was like Sokka's watchtower. Just a pile of snow and ice. "Man, everything freezes in there!" He exclaimed, pointing to the bathroom. I grimaced. I did NOT need to know that.

"Katara, get him out of here! This lesson is for warriors only!" Sokka snapped. I heard a kid's voice cheering, and I look over to see the kids sitting on Appa's back and sliding down his tail (which had been propped up on a rack for weapons) into a pile of snow. Katara and I both laughed at the irritated look on Sokka's face as he rushed over.

"Stop! Stop it right now!" Sokka yelled, stomping over to Aang. "What's the matter with you?" He demanded. "We don't have time for fun and games with the war going on!"

"What war?" Aang asked, sliding down from his place on Appa's back. "What are you talking about?"

At this point the three of us were staring at the airbender. "You're kidding, right?" Both Sokka and I said at the same time.

Aang looked over my shoulder, then his face got really weird. "PENGUIN!" He yelled, suddenly zooming past me to the distance at top speed, where I saw a penguin waddling away from the weird kid as fast as it could.

There was a second of silence, before Sokka said, "He's kidding, right?"

"I don't think he is…" I said quietly. Poor kid. He didn't have any idea what happened to his people.

But when he did find out- when he found out it was my people that killed his people- he would probably hate me too.

I hate it when people hate me.

"I'm gonna follow him." Katara said with a nervous look on her face.

~~Water~~

"The last airbender." Zuko said, staring at the Avatar jump down from a ship through his telescope. "Quite agile for his old age." He mused. "Wake my uncle! Tell him I found the Avatar..." He continued staring through his telescope, and found a small village. "...as well as his hiding place."


	3. The Avatar

**IN WHICH TORA IS MISTAKEN FOR AANG.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Tora and her mother.**

**Tora: Unfair!**

**Sokka: HAHAHAHA!**

**Tora: Shut up, Sokka!**

**Me: NO VIOLENCE IN THE DISCLAIMER!**

I was sitting on top of Appa, playing with the other kids, when it happened. A big flare shot into the sky, and exploded. The kids and I stopped playing and stared at it. Lili tugged on my sleeve. "What was that?"

I turned back to her. "Nothing. Don't worry about it." No need to frighten them. Sokka ran over to us.

"What are you doing?" he demanded angrily. "That flare signaled the fire nation! Why are you just sitting around?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing. "I thought you said it was nothing." Lili said, sounding scared.

"It is nothing. Don't worry, Sokka and I will handle those fire nation bitches." I said, smiling as Lili and the rest of the kids gasped when I used a bad word.

Everyone made our way to the 'gates' of the tribe and saw Katara and Aang walking toward us. The kids all rushed forward to the airbender, with yells of, "yay, Aang's back!"

Sokka, however, was not as excited to see him. "I knew it! You signaled the fire navy with that flare! You're leading them straight to us, aren't you?" he said, pointing accusingly at Aang.

"Aang didn't do anything. It was an accident." Katara said defensively.

"Yeah, we were on the ship and there was this booby trap, and well, we boobied right into it."

"Katara, you shouldn't have gone on that ship. Now we all could be in danger." Gran-Gran scolded.

Aang was quick to defend Katara. "Don't blame Katara! I brought her there. It's my fault."

"Ah-ha! The traitor confesses. Warriors, away from the enemy!" Sokka shouted. The kids all started walking back toward us with glum looks on their faces.

"Sokka, you're making a mistake!" Katara said angrily, clenching her fists.

"No. I'm keeping my promise to dad! I'm protecting you from threats like him!"

"Aang is not our enemy! Don't you see? He brought us something we haven't had in a long time: Fun!" Katara retorted.

"Fun?" Sokka asked incredulously. "We can't fight firebenders with fun!"

"You should try it sometime!" Aang commented.

"Get out of our village. Now!" Sokka ordered.

Katara turned to Gran-Gran. "Grandmother, please don't let Sokka do this!"

"Katara, you knew going on that ship was forbidden! Sokka is right. I think it's best if the airbender leaves." Gran-Gran said.

"Then I'm banished too!" Katara yelled. "Come on Aang. Let's go." Katara grabbed Aang's arm and pulled him toward Appa, who was waiting patiently for the two of them.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sokka demanded angrily.

"To find a waterbender! Aang is taking me to the North Pole!" she responded.

Apparently, this was new to Aang. "I am? Great!"

Okay, I had to stop this before it got out of hand. "Katara." I said, stepping forward. "I want you to become a master as much as you do, but are you willing to leave your family? Especially with the fire nation coming?"

Katara stopped walking. I could see she was feeling confused. Aang walked next to her. "Katara, Tora's right. I don't want to come between you and your family." He said. He walked over to the bison and sat on Appa's head.

I walked over to Katara. "So, where are you going now?" I asked him.

"Guess I'll go home and look for the airbenders." He paused. "Wow, I haven't cleaned my room in a hundred years. Not looking forward to that." I smiled. He looked at Katara. "Thanks for penguin sledding with me." I looked over at Katara, who was looking at him sadly._ Yeah, he's totally crushing on her._

"It was nice meeting everyone!" he shouted at the tribe.

"Let's see your bison fly now, air boy!" Sokka shouted. I turned around and glared at him so hard, he flinched backwards.

Aang didn't seem too bothered by it. "Come on, Appa, you can do it. Yip, yip!" Appa sat still for a moment, before getting up and walking away.

I heard Sokka mutter, "Yeah, I thought so." I didn't waste my time glaring at him. Lili suddenly emerged from the group crying.

"Aang, don't go! I'll miss you!" she pleaded.

"I'll miss you too." Aang said sadly. "Come on, boy." He picked up the reins and Appa walked off. Katara and I stood there, watching him leave. I put my arm around her shoulder in a comfortingly way.

Lili walked back to the tribe with a sad look on her face, and I heard Gran-Gran coming over to us.

"Katara, you'll feel better after you-"

Katara whirled around and shoved my arm off her shoulder, glaring at Gran-Gran angrily. "You happy now? There goes my chance of being a real waterbender!" She yelled angrily, and stomped off, leaving me and the elder alone.

Gran-Gran looked at me, and I stared back. "Why are you so against Katara learning waterbending? Katara has the potential to be a real master, but every time she wants to practice, you won't let her! It's suffocating her! So don't be surprised if you wake up one day and she's not here." I told her calmly, but my voice had a hidden anger in it. Then I ran back to the village, where Sokka was trying to arrange his six year olds. I heard him yell, "And no potty breaks!"

"You're going to regret that decision." I stated, walking past him. Sokka glared at me for a second, before running off, presumably to put on his war makeup.

Meanwhile, I went back to my igloo, grabbed my spear and my knife, (just as a precaution, since we didn't know what the fire nation wanted at the moment) and made sure my mom's necklace was still on my neck. Katara's necklace fell off a lot, since it didn't really hang on well. I remember the last time she lost it. She went insane and started tearing everything apart until I found it under one of my scrolls. To this day, I don't know how it got there; although I have a feeling Sokka put it there to mess with her.

I ran out of my igloo, and stood on the top of the snow wall, my eyes scanning the horizon, searching for the fire nation ships. To be honest, I had no idea whether or not the fire nation even saw the flare, or was even here.

After searching for a few seconds, I sat down and had some seal jerky that Sokka had hidden up here. Then I saw the small metal ship making its way toward us. I grabbed Sokka's watch glass and peered through it, searching for any indication of who it was. Damn it, I couldn't find anything!

I could barely see anything through the fog. Then, a glow of yellow light beamed through the fog. I could hear the villager's gasps of horror, and I felt the ice start to crack underneath me. Nearby, Sokka's watch tower fell again. I heard him yell, "Oh, man!"

"Get all of the kids inside!" I yelled, hoping down and speeding toward the middle of the village. Sokka sped past me and ran up the wall, standing right where the ship was coming. I slapped my forehead in frustration. The idiot would get himself killed.

"YOU IDIOT! YOU'RE GONNA GET YOURSELF KILLED!" I screamed at him. The ship came forward, causing the wall to fall, sending Sokka down the small avalanche. The ship lodged itself right in front of the tribe. Actually, it lodged itself practically inside the tribe. The ship caused a large crack to form in the ice. I noticed Hahn, one of the boys, had fallen right where the crack was forming. Before I could do anything, Katara snatched him up and ran over to a tent.

"SOKKA, GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Katara screamed at him.

The ship crashed into the walls of the village, and sent Sokka down (still standing up I might add) in a small avalanche of snow. I held my breath, hoping the ship would stop. It did. I gave a sigh of relief. It stood there, in its large, metallic glory, with steam rising from the top. Everyone came out of their tents and stared open mouthed at the fire nation ship currently stuck halfway into our village.

The bowsprit slowly detached itself from the rest of the ship and lowered itself onto the snow. Now, as the fog cleared, we could all see the people emerging from the ship. There were two fire nation soldiers, complete with the skull looking masks, the pointy helmets, and the red, black, and grey armour. Mostly red, though. I hadn't really thought about it until now, but I realized how much I missed the colors of home. In the South Pole, the only colors were the color of the tribe's skin, eyes, hair, and clothes. Everything else besides the animal's fur colors was white.

At the lead was a teenage boy, who looked like he was our age. He was wearing the same style helmet as the guards, only with a ridiculous pointy crown looking thing, and without the mask. His armour was the same, only a little bit brighter, and nobler looking.

_Great. A noble of the fire nation_. I thought in my head. _That's just what we need. A stupid boy who's been trained how to kill and fight with firebending._ That's when I looked closer and saw, to my surprise, a scar covering the boy's left eye. It looked like a burn.

Scar… burn… fire nation noble.

It took me five seconds to figure it out.

_No way._

Damn it! Can't we ever get a break?

Yeah, the boy was Prince Zuko of the fire nation. I had met him a few times when Iroh brought me to the palace when I was younger. My mother had been friends with Fire Lady Ursa, so Ursa sort of became a second mother to me. I had met her daughter Azula, and her son, Zuko. I wasn't really fond of either of them. Zuko was okay, but I barely talked to him. Azula was just crazy.

Zuko and the two soldiers came down the ramp toward us, and Sokka shot out from where he was kneeling and ran up the ramp, yelling a war cry. _Oh, sure, give him a warning, why don't you?_

I tried really hard not to laugh when the prince simply kicked Sokka's club out of his hand, then kicked Sokka off the ramp into the snow. Katara, who was clinging to Gran-Gran, gave me a look, and I nodded. I would attack, but I had to be patient.

Zuko came toward us and stood in front of our pathetic excuse for a village. He glared at all of us, then came over and stood in front of Katara, Gran-Gran and me.

"Where are you hiding him?" He demanded. Katara and I exchanged confused glances. He seemed annoyed when none of us answered him. He reached out and grabbed Gran-Gran from Katara's grasp, and showed her to us.

"He'd be about this age? Master of all elements?" He said, giving Gran-Gran a little shake.

Again, none of us answered. _Why is he looking for the Avatar? He died a hundred years ago._

Then, after a brief pause of silence, he got frustrated and blasted fire at us. "I KNOW YOU'RE HIDING HIM!" Several of the kids started crying. I turned and saw Lili clinging to her mother. That's what set me off.

"Hey, Zuzu!" I yelled at him angrily. "That's my tribe you're messin' with!" And I sent a blast of fire at him. He was startled, but quickly recovered, and blasted his own fire, blocking mine.

I sped toward him, melting the snow under my feet as I did, so I could bend it easily. When I got a few feet away from Zuko, I concentrated… and a huge block of ice sent me into the air, and I landed on my feet behind him, and kicked fire at him out of my feet.

Zuko spun around to face me. "You… you're the one?"

That caught me off guard. "Excuse me?"

"You're the avatar?"

"What? No!"

"Then how did you just firebend and waterbend?"

"That is none of your business!"

The village looked confused by our exchange of words. Neither of us were fighting physically, and this seemed to annoy Sokka. He picked up his club and charged toward Zuko and me, again giving a battle cry. Zuko simply flipped Sokka over his head, and Sokka landed on the ground. Zuko blasted fire at him, Sokka dodged, and threw Boomerang at him. It missed Zuko by inches, and it flew off into the distance.

"Show no fear!" Hahn yelled, throwing a spear to Sokka. He caught it, and charged toward Zuko, who just started breaking off pieces of the spear one at a time. Then he grabbed the bone part of the spear, and hit Sokka with it a few times. Then he snapped it in half and threw both halves on the ground.

Sokka fell on the ground, rubbing his head.

"Epic fail, Sokka." I said out loud.

Sokka glared at me. I noticed something shoot out of the sky, and it turned out to be Boomerang, which hit Zuko in the head, disgruntling his helmet. Now he looked furious. Fire daggers formed in his fists, and I joined him with that.

We lunged for each other. But I had the advantage. I was a waterbender and a firebender. Zuko was a firebender who was way out of his territory. I raised both my arms, and the mountain of snow in front of the ship turned into a wave, and with a flick of my wrist, the wave turned into a million ice daggers.

"When did you learn that?" Sokka hissed at me.

"Just now."

Zuko turned, and saw the daggers flying toward him. He promptly raised a shield of fire, and the daggers melted before they reached him.

All of a sudden, there was a blur of black, white, orange, and yellow shooting across the tundra and toward us. The blur shot between Zuko's legs, knocking him off his feet in the process and sending him face down in the snow.

Yeah, it was Aang, riding a penguin.

The kids started cheering, and Aang accidently sprayed them with snow. They stopped cheering for a moment, but continued in a second. Aang jumped off the penguin in front of us, and the penguin waddled off somewhere.

"Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka. Hey, Tora." Aang said calmly, as if it was no big deal.

"Hi… Aang. Thanks for coming." Sokka said dryly.

"Great timing, Airboy." I said, giving him two thumbs up.

Zuko's guards started coming for us, but Aang blasted air at them and they were forced backwards. Zuko held his ground and shielded his face from the wind.

"Looking for me?" Aang said heroically. Well, as heroically as any twelve year old could.

"You're the airbender? You're the Avatar?" Zuko asked in a mixture of disbelief and shock.

"Aang?" Katara gasped.

"No way." Sokka muttered in amazement.

"Awesome!" I exclaimed.

Zuko and Aang started circling each other carefully.

"I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training. Meditating. You're just a child!" Zuko spat.

"Well, you're just a teenager." Aang said, wrinkling his nose.

"He's right." I stated, and Zuko glared at me. I smirked at him.

Zuko started firebending blasts at Aang, who blocked them by spinning his staff. The fire shot toward the villagers, and we all had to duck down. Aang suddenly stopped fighting.

"If I go with you, do you promise to leave everyone alone?" Aang asked. Zuko stopped and thought for a second, then nodded.

"I want her to come as well." Zuko said, pointing at me.

"What?" I yelled. "No way!"

"A girl who can both firebend and waterbend will make an interesting prize for my father. I don't want to go back on my word." Zuko said, and he formed fire daggers in his fist again. I didn't even need to think about it.

"Fine, I'll go with you. But if you hurt anyone, I won't hesitate to attack." I said through clenched teeth. A soldier grabbed Aang's hands and tied them. Another tried to chain my hands, but I yanked my hands away and hissed at them. "I'll keep my word if he keeps his. You don't have to chain me." Zuko rolled his eyes, but waved his hands, making the soldiers back off.

"No! Don't do this!" Katara pleaded, rushing forward.

"Don't worry Katara." I said. I winked at her, showing that I would find a way to escape. Hopefully she saw it and Zuko didn't.

"Take care of Appa for me until I get back." Aang said. We started walking up the gangplank, with Zuko in the lead.

"Head a course for the Fire Nation! I'm going home." Zuko yelled.

_Fire Nation. Home._ I thought. No matter how much I loved the water tribe, the fire nation would always be home for me.

~~Water~~

Aang and I stood on the ship's deck. We were already on the move out of the South Pole. Iroh had emerged from the captain's room, and when he saw me, his eyes widened. I glanced at him, and then back at Zuko. He had taken Aang's staff from him.

"This will make an excellent gift for my father." Zuko stated. He glanced at Aang. "I suppose you wouldn't know fathers, seeing as you lived with monks." His eyes traveled back to me. I glared at him.

"Escort the Avatar to the prison hold. Leave the girl with me. And take this to my quarters." Zuko ordered, handing the staff to Iroh. I noticed Iroh hand the staff to a random soldier. Aang left with a few other soldiers, leaving me and Zuko alone. I glared at him.

"So, tell me. How is it you can bend water and fire?" Zuko asked. I just stared at him. "I asked you a question, girl. How are you a firebender and a waterbender?" I was silent. I could see him getting angrier and angrier. Steam was practically shooting out of his nose. "ANSWER ME!"

"You know, Zuko, you should watch your blood pressure. I knew this one guy, Lee? He was a vegetarian, and he just keeled over one day, right in the middle of eating a salad. Stress, it's a killer." I said calmly. He looked furious. "My dad was water tribe, so he had waterbending in his blood. My mother was a firebender. Simple as that."

"Water tribe and fire nation?" He asked in disgust. I nodded. "Disgusting."

"Oh, and I suppose attacking an innocent tribe isn't disgusting?" I shot back.

"Your mother is a traitor to her people."

"And your mother would be ashamed to see you doing all this." I retorted. I had said it as soon as I thought it. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say. His face got all red and angry looking, and he shouted something very rude at me. "Watch your tongue, Zuzu."

"I'm finished with you! Send her to my room!" Zuko said furiously. A guard came over and grabbed my arm. He led me down to Zuko's room.

Too bad I didn't get there.

Aang suddenly shot down the hallway, staff in hand, and saw me and the guard. "Tora!"

The guard took a stance, and Aang blasted a huge amount of air at him. The guard shot back, and slammed his head against the metal wall. I winced. "Ouch."

"C'mon, let's get out of here!" Aang said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me along. I ran after him, and soon we were both on the deck. Then we both smacked into Zuko.

"Looks like I underestimated you." He said, glaring down at Aang. I leaned over and saw something in the sky.

"What the heck is that?"

Both Zuko and Aang looked at what I had seen. Aang's face lit up. "Appa!"

"You mean he can actually fly?" I asked in shock. Zuko stared at Appa in shock. I took this as an escape and shot off toward the side of the ship. Zuko emerged from his state of shock and shot fireballs at Aang, who started blocking them by spinning his staff again. Meanwhile I had started taking on the soldiers. I started messing them up by getting inside their head. I started saying things like, "I guess they'll let anyone join the army these days!" Or, "Come on, give me a challenge! I could beat you with both hands tied behind my back!" Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Aang finally get knocked overboard. I heard Katara's hysterical voice shouting his name. While I was distracted, one of the soldiers grabbed my wrist and held it behind my back.

"See if you can beat us now!" He yelled.

All of a sudden, a geyser shot out of the water. And riding on top of the geyser was Aang himself. Only it wasn't Aang. His eyes and tattoos were glowing white, and he had an angry look on his face.

"The Avatar State." I muttered softly.

Aang landed on deck, his eyes still glowing, and he bended the water geyser in a circle around him. He released it, and the water shot forward, knocking Zuko and the soldiers of the boat, and sent me flying into the air, landing on Appa's saddle.

"Tora! You're okay!" Katara exclaimed. "Did you see that?"

"That was some serious waterbending!" Sokka agreed.

Below us, Aang's glow faded, and he fell on his knees. Appa landed on deck, and we all jumped down and ran toward the Avatar.

"Aang! Are you okay?" Katara asked in a worried tone. Aang opened his eyes.

"Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka. Thanks for coming." Aang said in a drained tone.

"Well, we couldn't let you have all the glory." Sokka said cheerfully.

"I dropped my staff."

Sokka ran toward the staff. "I got it!" He grabbed the staff and made a shocked tone. He suddenly punched the staff out three times. "HA! That's from the water tribe!" Sokka said triumphantly.

Some of the soldiers got up, and took fighting stances. Katara waterbended some water into a small stream, and tried to whip them, but somehow managed to freeze the water on deck, freezing Sokka's boots to the floor. "Katara!"

Katara did the same thing again, only this time it actually worked, and she froze the soldiers in a layer of ice. I made the ice thicker than it was before, and we both ran toward Appa and jumped on top of him. I turned around and saw Sokka chipping at the ice with boomerang. "Sokka, hurry up!"

"I'm just a guy with a boomerang, I didn't ask for all this flying and magic!" he muttered angrily. When he finally freed himself, he ran over to us and I helped him get on. "Yip, yip! Yip, yip!" he yelled panicking.

Appa floated into the sky, and we shot off. Suddenly, fireballs were shot at us, and Aang jumped out of the saddle and swung his staff. The air blast shot the fireball to a cliff of ice, and the ice and snow came down in an avalanche and covered the front half of Zuko's ship.

"THAT'S FROM THE WATER TRIBE!" I screamed at him.

~~Water~~

Zuko stared in disbelief at the ice and snow covering his ship. He heard his uncle coming toward him.

"Good news for the Fire Lord. The fire nation's biggest threat is just a little kid." Iroh said.

"That little kid just did all of this. I will not underestimate him again." Zuko said as calmly as he could. Which was not too much. "And I still don't understand how that girl could bend two elements. Dig the ship out and follow them!" He yelled at the soldiers. Then he turned around and saw that the soldiers who hadn't been frozen were currently melting the ice sheet covering the other soldiers. "As soon as you're done with that."

~~Water~~

"How did you do that?" Katara asked, still gushing over Aang's water trick. "With the water? It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!"

"That makes two of us." I agreed.

Aang was sitting cross legged on the front of the saddle, not on Appa's head like he usually was. He looked kind of sad. "I don't know. I just… did it."

"Aang." I said gently. "Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?" This was something that had been bugging me for a while.

"Because… I never wanted to be." Aang said, looking down. I had to agree with him. I mean, that much responsibility when you were twelve years old? Who would want that? We were all silent for a moment.

"But Aang, the world's been waiting for you to return and put an end to this war." Katara said.

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

"Well, according to the legends, you're supposed to master water, then earth, then fire, right?" I asked.

"That's what the monks told me." Aang agreed, still sounding depressed.

"Well, if we go to the North Pole, you can master waterbending!" Katara said, picking up my point.

"We could learn it together!" Aang said in realization, looking more excited about this.

"Don't forget me." I said, leaning against the side.

"You're not a master?" Aang said in confusion, looking at me. "But I saw you do that thing with the snow. You made it into daggers!"

"That's just a minor trick. An amateur could do that. I can teach you both." I explained.

"What about me?" Sokka asked.

"You could knock some fire nation heads on the way." Katara said, pacifying him.

"I'd like that. I'd really like that." Sokka said, almost dreamily.

"We're in this together Aang." I said, punching my fist into my palm.

Aang pulled a scroll out of his shirt. "All right, but before I learn waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to here, here, and here." He said, airbending himself over to us and pointing to several places on the scroll, which turned out to be a map.

"What's there?" Katara asked.

He pointed to a place in the Earth Kingdom. "Here we'll ride the hopping llamas. Then waaaay over here," He pointed to a place in the southern air nomad islands. "We'll surf on the backs of giant koi fish."

"Awesome." I said. Aang grinned at me, then returned to the map. "Then back over here we'll ride the hog-monkeys. They don't like people riding them, but that's what makes it fun!"

I laughed out loud.

This was going to be one hell of an adventure.

**Aaaand the chapters over! The fun begins next chapter! See you next time!**

**Remember. Review if you like it and review if you don't. Tell me if Tora is a mary sue and point out the sue traits and I'll fix them.**


	4. The Avatar State: Part One

The Avatar State: Part One

**Okay, sorry for the wait for the update (somewhat long, if any of you actually cared) I know that it's winter break, so I should update more, but during the holiday's I get really lazy and sluggish.**

**Okay, anyway, disclaimer: If I owned Avatar the Last Airbender do you really think I'd be writing a fanfiction for it? The only thing I own is Tora and her mom. And the idea for the story.**

_I was running through the forest, my hair whipping around me. I couldn't see a thing. All I could hear was someone saying the word, "Faster! Faster!"_

_I tripped over a tree root and fell on my knee. "Ahh!"_

_Katara's voice filled the air. "Tora! Help us!"_

_I came upon a cave. The walls were covered with glowing lights that I later realized were jewels. _

_"Choose!"_

_"Choose!"_

_"Choose!"_

_The word echoed around me, bouncing of the walls._

_"Which one? Which one is the right one?" I yelled, rushing up to the wall, attempting to pull out the glowing stones. I saw a glow out of the corner of my eye, and turned around. In the floor was a large glowing red gem. I got to my knees and gently pried out the stone. I lifted it up to my face, and stared at the thing in my hands._

_Instead of the gem, there was a small dead brown bird._

_My scream filled the air._

I shot up in my sleeping bag, gasping for breath. Katara and Aang were already awake, and Katara looked over at me.

"Good night sleep, Tora?" She asked me.

I sucked in a huge gulp of air, and then answered the question. "Yeah, great. Just super!" I gasped.

Katara gave me an unconvinced look, but turned back to Aang when he started talking again. "Wait till you see it, Katara! The Air Temple is one of the most beautiful places in the world!"

I crawled out of the bag and rolled it up. Then I placed it on Appa. After the frustration of trying to figure out how to get on Appa, I raised my hand, looking for assistance. No one helped me. Katara was saying something. "-can change in all that time."

Aang paused. Then he said, "I know, but I need to see it for myself."

"Now, how do we wake Captain Snores-a-lot?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips and looking over at Sokka, who was still sleeping like he was dead.

Aang floated off Appa's head, and walked over to Sokka. "Sokka, wake up, air temple time!"

"Sleep now… Temple later!" Sokka groaned, rolling over.

I walked over to him. "I got this." I said, raising my hand to show Aang I would take care of it. I leaned down next to Sokka and whispered very softly in his ear. "Sokka…"

He groaned. "Sokka…"

He groaned again. "SOKKA WAKE UP, A SEA MONSTER TOOK YOUR BOOMERANG AND YOUR BREAKFAST!"

He jumped up in his sleeping bag, and started hopping around. "AHHH! DON'T TAKE MY BREAKFAST!" Then he tripped over a rock and fell on his face. I got to my feet and smiled at him.

"Good, you're up!" I said cheerfully. "Now, would someone please give me a lift on Appa?"

~~Water~~

"Uncle, I want repairs made as quickly as possible." Zuko said as he stomped down to the docks. His (very much damaged) ship was much smaller than all the others in the harbour, something he was painfully aware of. "I don't want to stay too long and risk losing his trail."

"You mean the Avatar?" Iroh asked.

Zuko spun around angrily. "Don't mention his name on these docks! If word gets out he's alive, every firebender will be out looking for him, and I don't want anyone getting in the way!"

"Getting in the way of what?"

Zuko and Iroh both turned toward the voice, and Zuko saw the last person he wanted to see.

Captain Zhao.

"Captain Zhao." He said distastefully.

"Actually, it's commander now." He turned to Iroh. "General Iroh. Great Hero of our nation." He bowed.

"_Retired _General." Iroh corrected.

"The Fire Lord's brother and son are welcome guests any time. What brings you to my harbor?"

"Our ship is being repaired." Iroh said, gesturing at the heavily damaged ship.

"That's quite a bit of damage." Zhao commented.

"Yes... you wouldn't believe what happened." Zuko glanced at Iroh. "Uncle! Tell Commander Zhao what happened." Iroh's eyes went wide

"Uh, Yes, I will do that. It was incredible. What... did we crash or something?" He whispered at Zuko.

If Zhao hadn't been in front of them, Zuko would have rolled his eyes. "Uh, yes! Right into an Earth Kingdom ship."

Zhao raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing them. "Really? You must regale me with all the thrilling details. Join me for a drink?"

"Sorry, but we have to go." Zuko said, not sounding sorry at all. He turned around to leave, but Iroh placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Prince Zuko, show Commander Zhao your respect." He turned back to Zhao. "We would be honored to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea? It's my favorite."

Zuko growled in frustration and fire appeared in his hands as he turned to follow his uncle.

~~Water~~

I leaned against the side of the saddle, trying to at least get a little nap.

"Tora?" I opened one eye, and saw Katara staring at me. "What did you dream about last night?"

"What makes you think I dreamed about anything?" I asked, sitting up and crossing my legs.

"Well, for one thing, you haven't said anything sarcastic about anything."

I shifted over onto my side. "Katara, I'm fine, really. Stop worrying."

"Really? You're fine?" She pressed.

I rolled over so I could see her. "Yes, Katara. I really am fine."

"Okay, whatever you say." She sighed, knowing not to press too much.

"Hey, girls, be quiet all right? I'm trying to find me some food!" Sokka said from the other side of the saddle. I heard rustling, then he said in a whiny voice, "Hey, what happened to my blubbered seal jerky?"

"Oh, that was food?" Aang asked, turning around to face us. "I used it to light the campfire last night."

"Good for you Aang! You found a practical use for that stuff!" I congratulated him, giving the thumbs up.

"No wonder the fire smelled so good." Sokka said sadly.

"The Batola mountain range!" Aang suddenly exclaimed as we came toward a mountain range. "We're almost there!"

Katara looked uneasy. "Aang? Before we get to the temple, I want to talk to you about the airbenders."

"What about 'em?"

"I just want you to be prepared for what you might see. The Fire Nation is ruthless." Katara said. I winced. "They killed my mother and they could have done the same to your people."

"Hey, can we not talk about how ruthless the fire nation is in front of me?" I muttered under my breath.

"Just because no one has seen an airbender doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them all. They probably escaped." Aang said calmly.

I sat up. "I know it's hard to accept."

"You don't understand, Tora. The only way to get to an airbender temple is on a flying bison, and I doubt the Fire Nation has any flying bison. Right, Appa?" He asked the bison, who groaned in agreement.

"There might have been other ways-" I started, but before I could finish, Katara shot me a look, and I closed my mouth.

"Yip-yip!"

Appa started to fly higher, and turned tightly around a mountain face. Katara, Sokka and I had to cling to the side of the saddle just to remain in the seat.

"I think a bug just flew in my face!" I yelled.

Appa flew up and over a rocky outcropping and several treetops before revealing the spirals of the southern air temple. It was…

"Beautiful!" I exclaimed in amazement.

"The Southern Air Temple." Aang said, sounding proud.

"Aang, it's amazing!" Katara exclaimed, just as amazed as I was.

Aang stroked Appa's furry arrowed head. "We're home, buddy. We're home."

I felt a twinge of sorrow for the kid. He still had no idea.

~~Water~~

"And by the year's end, the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our control. Fire Lord Ozai will have finally won the war." Zhao finished his speech smugly, standing before a map of the world. Zuko was hardly listening, and Iroh, having finished his tea, was inspecting the weapons Zhao had in his tent.

"If my father thinks the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool." Zuko snapped angrily.

"Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue." Zhao said coolly. "So, how is your search for the Avatar going?"

A large crash filled the room. Both Zuko and Zhao turned to stare at Iroh, who had an array of weapons at his feet.

"My fault entirely." He said as he slowly backed away. Zuko rolled his eyes at his uncle and gave an inwardly sigh.

"We haven't found him yet." Zuko lied as he turned his attention back to the conversation.

"What did you expect? The Avatar died a hundred years ago with the rest of his people." Zhao scoffed. Zuko refused to make eye contact. "Unless you've found evidence the Avatar is alive?"

"No. Nothing." Zuko said shortly.

Zhao rose from his chair. "Prince Zuko. The Avatar is the only thing stopping the Fire Nation from winning this war. If you have an ounce of loyalty left, you will tell me what you've found."

"I haven't found anything." Zuko said coldly. "It's like you said: the Avatar probably died a hundred years ago." He stood up. "Come on, Uncle. We're leaving."

As Zuko tried to leave the tent, he was stopped by the guards, who crossed their weapons in front of him, blocking the exit. Another guard approached Zhao.

"Commander Zhao, we interrogated the crew as you ordered. They reported Prince Zuko had the Avatar in custody, but let him escape."

Zhao smirked. Zuko cursed.

"Now tell me…" Zhao approached Zuko from behind. "How exactly was your ship damaged again?"

~~Water~~

A breeze flew through my hair, blowing a few loose strands into my face. I tucked them behind my ear impatiently, knowing they would fall right back again.

"So, where can I get something to eat?" Sokka asked loudly as we walked up the hill to the air temple.

"You're lucky enough to be one of the first outsiders to see an Air Temple, and all you can think about is your stomach?" Katara demanded in annoyance.

"I'm just a simple guy with simple needs."

I rolled my eyes. Aang was running up ahead. He stopped at the edge of the path to let us catch up. "So that's where my friends and I would play airball!" He said, pointing to a grove of poles sticking out of the ground with a goal looking thing at each end. "And that's where the bison would sleep! And…" he stopped talking and sighed.

"What's wrong?" I asked, concerned.

"This place used to be filled with monks and lemurs and bison! Now there's just a bunch of weeds." He sat down on the ground and stared out at his past home. "I can't believe how much has changed."

I put a hand on his shoulder as I reached him. He looked up at me sadly, and I gave him a small smile.

"Hey, you know who would love to play airball?" I asked him. "Sokka!"

"Sokka would what?" Sokka asked.

~~Water~~

In about five minutes, Aang and Sokka were on the airball field. Aang had a wooden ball in his hands, and he airbended air around it to keep it spinning. Suddenly he started handling it with amazing talent. He then threw it very high into the air, and while it was up, he closed his eyes and put his hands behind his back. As the air came back to the ground (or, where Aang was standing on the poles) he blasted air, and sent it rocketing through the poles, bouncing off each other, but it kept on going toward Sokka at an amazing speed. When it finally reached Sokka, it hit him in the stomach and sent him flying through the goal, which was a board with a revolving circle in the middle.

I burst out laughing as Aang yelled, "Aang seven, Sokka zero!" I gave out a loud "whoop", and Katara gave me an odd look.

"Katara, you better see this." Sokka yelled from where he had fallen. Katara ran toward him, while I ran toward Aang to congratulate him.

"Nice job, Aang. I wish I was an airbender." I said, leaning against one of the poles.

"Yeah, it's pretty great." Aang agreed. Katara suddenly yelled for Aang to come over, and I followed. I caught a glimpse of something red in front of Sokka, before Katara suddenly waterbended the snow above them onto both whatever it was and Sokka.

"What is it?" Aang asked. Katara gave him a small smile, before she claimed that she wanted to show us her new waterbending trick.

"Nice trick, but enough practicing. We've got a whole temple to explore!" Aang said before running off.

"You know, you can't protect him forever." Sokka said, as he had freed himself from the snow. I turned to him.

"What did you find?" I asked curiously, though I already had an idea of what it was.

"A Fire Nation soldiers helmet." Sokka said darkly. I gasped in horror, and turned to Katara.

"How could you keep that from him? He deserves to know!"

"I know he does. But he's so happy right now." She said, which made me think, when is he _not_ happy? "If he found out the firebenders were here, it would destroy him."

I opened my mouth, trying to find something to say, but found I couldn't. "Alright. But I do not agree with your decision. And you have to tell him sometime." I said, before running off to catch up with Aang.

When we reached the entrance to the temple, I ran in with Aang, giving Katara and Sokka some alone time to speak. Aang suddenly stopped in front of a statue of an old monk with a moustache and an airbender pendant. It was covered in small cracks, eroded with time.

"Guys! I want you to meet somebody!" Aang yelled at them, and they came over to us.

"Who's that?" Sokka asked bluntly.

"This is monk Gyatso, the greatest airbender of all time." Aang said, gesturing to the statue. "He taught me everything I know." Aang smiled at the statue, and seemed to enter his little Avatar/Airbender imagined world. He bowed to the statue.

"You must miss him." Katara said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah." Aang sighed, before suddenly walking off into the temple.

"Where y' going?" I asked him.

"To the Air Temple Sanctuary. There's someone I'm ready to meet."

A minute later, we were standing in front of a very large door, with some fancy design on it and two giant horns on either side.

"But Aang, there's no way someone could have survived in there for a hundred years." Katara said, trying to reason with him.

"It's possible. I survived in the iceberg for that long." Aang said.

"Good point." Katara agreed, looking up at the door.

"But that was with the Avatar magic ice all around him!" I said, waving my hands in the air.

Of course, no one listened to me.

"So, do you have the key to this door or what?" Sokka asked.

"The key, Sokka, is airbending." Aang said, and he shot air into both horns, and they blew through the tubes, one by one turning over the Air Nomad symbols on the door, showing the maroon side that had been facing the door. When all three of the symbols had been flipped over, we heard some noises from the inside of the temple, and the door slowly opened, to reveal a dark room.

"Hello? Anyone in there?" Aang called into the room. When no one answered, the water tribe siblings and me exchanged looks, and we all slowly stepped inside.


	5. The Avatar State: Part Two

The Avatar State Part 2

**I'M BAAACK!**

**So, I thought I would tell you now, and spare you the disappointment later on. I will not be including Zuko and Zhao's Agni Kai in the chapter. I'll have the moments leading up to the fight, and I'll have scene when Zuko wins, but I won't have scenes from the fight. Sorry to disappoint you.**

**Oh, second. ONLY FIVE REVIEWS? I mean, just having five when I've written so little is fine. But it would be nice to have more.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Tora.**

"So, a twelve year old boy bested you and your firebenders?" Zhao asked the prince snootily. Zuko was sitting with his arms crossed, and a bitter scowl on his face. "You're more pathetic than I thought."

"I underestimated him." Zuko said in annoyance. "But it will not happen again."

"No, it will not. Because you won't have a second chance." Zhao said.

"Commander Zhao, I have been hunting the Avatar for two years, and-" Zuko said, alarmed. He was cut off by Zhao, who spun around with flames erupting from his hands.

"And failed! Capturing the Avatar is too important to leave in a teenager's hands. He's mine now. And so is that girl." Zhao said smugly.

Zuko launched himself at the commander, but was held back by two guards. Zhao turned to leave, and said to the guards, "Keep them here."

After he left, Iroh, who had been sitting quietly the whole time, waved his hand at a soldier, and calmly said, "More tea, please."

~~Water~~

We walked into the room. It was sort of dark inside, but there was a sort of natural light coming from the ceiling. There were statues of people lining the floor and covering the walls, all running along a swirl pattern on the floor.

"Statues? Where's the meat?" Sokka yelled.

"Who are all these people?" Katara asked, all of us ignoring her brother.

"I don't know, but I feel like I know them somehow." Aang said, as we all walked to the center of the room.

"Well, this is really freaking me out." I said, rubbing my arms that were covered up with my parka. Despite the warm air in the room, I had goose bumps riding up my arms.

"Look! It's an airbender!" Aang suddenly said, pointing to a statue of a woman in Air Nomad clothes.

"And here's a waterbender." Katara said, pointing to another one. "They're lined up in a cycle- Air, Water, Earth, and Fire."

"Isn't that the Avatar cycle?" I asked, not taking my eyes off an earthbender female. She had a braid down one side of her face with feathers in the hair tie, with a long strand down the other side. She had a cocky smile on her face.

"That's it!" Katara exclaimed, making me jump. "These are all the Avatars! All these people are your past lives, Aang!"

"Wow. There are so many!" Aang said in amazement.

"Well, how long has the Avatar been around?" I asked, stepping away from the Earth Kingdom Avatar.

Aang's face showed fierce concentration, so I shook my head and told him it was a question that I didn't need the answer for.

"Past lives? Katara, don't tell me you actually believe in that stuff." Sokka said, ever the skeptical.

"It's true! When the Avatar dies, he's reincarnated into the next cycle!" Katara exclaimed. I glanced over at Aang, and saw he was staring at a Fire Nation Avatar with a dazed look on his face, like he was in a trance.

"Aang, snap out of it." I said, snapping my fingers in front of his face.

"Huh?"

"Who's that?" Katara asked, coming over to us.

"That's Avatar Roku, the Avatar before me." Aang said.

"You were Fire Nation? No wonder I didn't trust you when we first met." Sokka said in realization.

"There's no writing. How do you know his name?" Katara asked.

"I'm not sure… I just know it somehow." Aang said in confusion.

"I get it." I said. Everyone looked at me. "As Katara said, all these people are your past lives. I'm sure if you concentrated enough, you could name every person in this room." Aang's face suddenly screwed up in concentration, and sweat started beading at his forehead. "That wasn't a challenge."

There was suddenly a sound behind us. A long shadow appeared in the doorway, and we all ducked behind the statues.

"Firebender! Nobody make a sound!" Sokka hissed, pulling out his club.

"You're making a sound!" Katara and I both whispered at him, and we got shushed by the boys.

"The firebender won't know what hit him!" Sokka whispered.

"How do you know it's a boy?" I whispered back. Sokka ignored me, and after a few seconds of waiting, he shot out from behind the statue, club in hand, and suddenly stopped. I peered out from behind the statue, and stared at the intruder.

It was one of the most adorable things I had ever seen. It looked like some sort of rabbit-monkey that was white and had a brown stomach.

"Lemur!" Aang exclaimed in joy.

"Dinner!" Sokka said, with drool coming out of the corner of his mouth.

"Don't listen to him. You're gonna be my new pet!" Aang said, stepping out from the statue.

"Not if I catch him first!" Sokka yelled, and they both shot out of the room, chasing the lemur.

Katara and I exchanged looks, rolled our eyes in sync, and went back to looking at the statues.

~~Water~~

"My search party is ready. " Zhao said, coming back from whatever it was he had been doing outside of the tent. "Once I'm out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship and you'll be free to go."

"Why? Are you worried I'm going to try and stop you?" Zuko snapped, glaring at him.

Zhao laughed cruelly. "You? Stop me? Impossible."

Zuko stood up angrily. "Don't underestimate me, Zhao. I will capture the Avatar before you."

Iroh stood up as well, trying to stop his nephew from doing something stupid. "Prince Zuko, that's enough!"

Zhao mentally rolled his eyes. "You can't compete with me. I have hundreds of warships under my command, and you... you're just a banished prince. No home. No allies. Your own father doesn't even want you."

That was one sentence too many.

"You're wrong! Once I deliver the Avatar to my father he will welcome me home with honor and restore my rightful place on the throne."

Zhao scoffed. "If your father really wanted you home, he'd have let you return by now, Avatar or no Avatar, but in his eyes you are a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation."

"That's not true." Zuko said, in denial.

Zhao smirked cruelly. "You have the scar to prove it."

Zuko let out a furious yell and shot towards Zhao, getting in his face. "Maybe you'd like one to match!"

"Is that a challenge?"

"An Agni Kai. At sunset."

"Very well. It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me humiliate you. I guess your uncle will do." Zhao turned and walked out of the tent.

"Prince Zuko, have you forgotten what happened last time you dueled a master?" Iroh asked in horror, immensely concerned for his nephew.

"I will never forget." Zuko said quietly, remembering the fire, and the pain that had been there for weeks afterward.

~~Water~~

I was looking at an Air Nomad Avatar, and Katara was inspecting Roku again.

Then, all of a sudden, Roku's statues eyes started glowing. Then, the Avatar before Roku's eyes started glowing. Then all the statues eyes started glowing, running backwards the cycle.

"What's going on?" I asked, a little worried.

Katara shrugged, before suddenly gasping, and running out of the room. "Where are you going?" I yelled after her.

"Aang!"

Understanding, I ran after her.

~~Water~~

**Earth Kingdom**

In the Earth Kingdom Avatar Temple, the thing portraying the Avatar was a mosaic on the wall showing four of the Avatar's around a woman, who was said to be the first Earthbender. **(A cookie for you if you can guess who the woman is!)** The Earth Kingdom Sage leaned back in shock.

**Northern Water Tribe**

Two Water Tribe sages were standing outside the Water Tribe Avatar Temple, watching in a mixture of shock and amazement. The large poleon top of the temple was glowing blue, and lights were shooting up into the clouds.

**Fire Nation**

"Send word to the Fire Lord." The head Fire Sage ordered another sage. The room in front of him was filled with a golden light. "The Avatar has returned!"

~~Water~~

Katara and I ran toward where the most destruction seemed to be coming from. We ran into what seemed like a courtyard, and what we saw made me gasp in horror as the hurricane like wind whipped at my face and attacked my hair, pulling it out of my loose braid, sending it blowing all around my head.

Aang was levitating in the sky, air pulled into a sphere around him. His eyes and tattoos were glowing white, like the statue's eyes. His face was contorted with rage and fury, and his fists were clenched. The wind was getting stronger every second, and it probably wouldn't be much longer before he blew us all off the mountain.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?" I yelled at Sokka. The siblings were hiding behind a rock, while I just stood there, frozen in horror, completely exposed to Aang.

"He found out the firebenders killed Gyatso!" Sokka yelled back.

_Oh, God._

Aang suddenly turned toward us, and his eyes zoomed in on me. "FIREBENDER! FIRE NATION! YOU DID THIS!" He yelled, his voice magnified a thousand times. The wind picked up even more, and I had no doubt that if he wasn't stopped, Aang would probably cause a tornado.

Aang slowly lifted his hand, and a huge blast of air shot toward me. I raised my hand, trying to defend myself, but it was in vain. The air hit me, and I got sent flying backward, slamming into a rock wall. And my world went black.

~~Water~~

"TORA!" Katara screamed, her voice lost in the wind as her friend went flying through the air, slammed into the wall, and crumpled to the ground unconscious. She turned to Sokka. "I'm gonna try and calm him down!"

"Well, hurry up before he blows us off the mountain!" Sokka yelled back. Katara turned to face Aang, and winced when she saw his furious expression. Nonetheless, she ran to Tora and shielded her from the Avatar, who was still advancing on the unconscious girl.

~~Water~~

Meanwhile, a few hundred miles away, Zuko stood triumphantly, his fist pointed at Zhao, who was lying on the ground glaring up at him.

The only thought in his mind was the odd realization that he had _won_. Against _Zhao_, one of the best firebenders in the Nation.

"Do it!" Zhao yelled at him.

Zuko hesitated for a second, before shooting a blast of fire.

_Close_ to Zhao. He hadn't harmed Zhao in any way.

"That's it?" Zhao asked in disgust. "Your father raised a coward."

"Next time you get in my way, I won't hold back." Zuko said, and turned around to walk away.

Behind him, Zhao gave a howl of outrage and unleashed a whip of fire toward Zuko. The flame shot toward Zuko's back, before Iroh placed a hand over Zhao's foot, where the fire had come from. Zuko spun around to see his uncle holding Zhao's foot, and they all stood in silence, before Iroh shoved Zhao backwards into the dirt with hardly any effort. Zuko started forward in fury, but Iroh placed a hand in front of him.

"No, Prince Zuko. You will only taint your victory." His eyes travelled back to Zhao. "So this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat? Disgraceful. Even in exile, my nephew is more honorable than you." Zuko glanced at his uncle in surprise. "Thank you for the tea. It was delicious."

They walked out of the arena, and once outside, Zuko glanced at his uncle again.

"Did you really mean that, Uncle?"

"Of course. I told you , ginseng tea is my favourite."

~~Water~~

"Aang! I know you're upset... and I know how hard it is to lose the people you love. I went through the same thing when I lost my mom. Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family! Sokka, Tora, and I, we're your family now!" Katara yelled at the Avatar. Aang slowly started to float back down to the ground when she had finished, and landed on both feet. The wind slowly started dying, until there was just a faint breeze.

"None of us are going to let anything happen to you. Promise." Sokka said gently. Katara took Aang's hand, and the glow in his eyes and tattoos faded away. Aang suddenly collapsed into Katara, exhausted.

"I'm sorry." Aang said softly.

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault." Katara said kindly. Aang glanced at Tora, who was still spread out on the ground unconscious, and moaned.

"Tora's hurt because of me." Aang said sadly. Katara glanced over at Sokka, who was checking Tora to make sure she was okay. "And you were right. If the firebenders found this temple, that means they found the other ones too. I really _am_ the last airbender."

"GAH!" Tora suddenly shot up, and promptly grabbed her head, holding it in pain. "What happened?"

Aang glanced at the ground guiltily, Tora looked at him, and she suddenly remembered what happened.

"I'm so sorry Tora." Aang said honestly. Tora smiled at him.

"It's fine. I'm alright, I'm not hurt. It wasn't your fault anyway." She said, taking his hand and squeezing it gently.

Aang gave her a small smile, and asked her what Sokka did to wake her up. She grimaced.

"He used one of his socks! Do you _know_ how much they _smell_?"

"Hey, you're talking to someone who had to wash his socks for years!" Katara rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Aang gave a small laugh when Sokka gave a cry of indignation. But he still felt guilty, and he still felt a small empty hole inside of him where the airbenders had once been.

~~Water~~

Later, they were all packed up and ready to leave. Katara started to walk into the air temple sanctuary, where Aang was, but Tora told her she would do it.

**Tora POV**

I walked into the sanctuary, and found Aang staring at Roku's statue. I put a hand on his shoulder. "Ready to go?"

He didn't move. "How's Avatar Roku supposed to help me when I can't talk to him?" He asked me.

I shrugged. "Maybe something 'magical' will happen so you can talk to him." At the word magical, I did air quote and finished with a fancy flourish, imitating making magic.

He laughed. I grinned, and took his arm. We heard a noise behind us, and turned around to see the lemur in the doorway. As we came out of the sanctuary, we saw the lemur run over to Sokka, place a handful of fruits and nuts in front of him, ran away, and Sokka hunch down and start to stuff his face.

"Looks like you made a new friend, Sokka." Aang commented.

"Can't talk! Must eat!" I rolled my eyes and told him not to talk with his mouth full. The lemur suddenly came back and scrambled up Aang's body to perch on his head.

"Hey, little guy." Aang said to it. I scratched its ears, making it purr. "He likes you."

A few minutes later, Aang was standing with Appa and the lemur, looking at the air temple. "You, me, and Appa are all that's left of this place. We've got to stick together. Katara, Tora, Sokka," He turned back to us. "Meet the newest member of our family."

"What are you gonna call him?" Katara asked. The lemur jumped off Aang and scurried over to Sokka, grabbed the peach from his hand, and ran back to Aang.

"Momo." Aang answered. Sokka still had his mouth ready to take a bite, and I laughed.

"It fits him." I stated.

As we flew away from the air temple, I noticed Aang watching it disappear beyond the horizon. I crawled over to him. "They're still with you, you know."

He looked at me.

"They're still here, in your heart." I said, pointing to his chest. "And no matter what, they will always be there."

Aang stared at me, before suddenly wrapping his arms around me and giving me a hug. I blinked in surprise, before patting his back.

Minutes later, I stared over the side of the saddle, thinking about mom. If I couldn't remember her at all, did that mean she was still with me? I touched my necklace.

Maybe she was.

**Episode three is over.**


	6. AUTHORS NOTE PLEASE READ

**AUTHOR'S NOTE PLEASE READ.**

**I was fiddling around with the internet, so i decided to check up on how my story was doing. And i saw that i still had only FIVE reviews, despite the fact that 527 people had looked at it, 13 people are following it, and 6 people had favourited it. **

**So, people, come on. If you're gonna read, you've gotta review. Tell me what you think of the story, the things i could improve, if Tora is a mary sue or not, if she is what her sue traits are, or something random, like "I love cheese." Just review already! It takes like five seconds!**

**And to those people who were nice enough to review, thank you.**

**Sincerely, Lady of the Spirit.**


	7. Kyoshi Warriors Part 1

Kyoshi Warriors

**Really super sorry about the wait for this chapter! Warning, the chapters on Kyoshi Island do not have much Zuko, except for the part when he arrives on Kyoshi. And I'm sorry, but this is not the whole episode. It's only half.**

**To the guest that reviewed this: First, it's alright that you couldn't come up with anything to say because you don't like writing one liners. Secondly, what do you mean by "Don't add anything too random."? It might seem obvious to the rest of you reading this, but I don't understand what you mean. So please tell me. Until you tell me what you mean by "don't add anything random" I will put a random thing in the story, if I haven't already.**

**So, about my last chapter (which wasn't a chapter, it was an update) I apologize if I sounded like "if you don't leave a review, DON'T READ THIS!" I didn't mean to sound that way. But I would like it if more people reviewed this. I want to be a writer, and this is kind of testing me to see if people would like my stories. (Honestly, it doesn't matter to me; I still want to be a writer.)**

**Disclaimer: Me: I own the whole series! MWAHAHAHA!**

**Lawyer guy: :(**

**ME: Sigh. Okay, I don't own anything but Tora. HAPPY?!**

**Lawyer guy: [Nods]**

**Me: Jerkbender.**

"You have no idea where we're going, do you?"

We were currently sitting on Appa, flying to wherever Aang was taking us. We were all bored out of our skulls. Katara was sewing a hole in Sokka's pants, I was firebending small flames into the sky, Sokka was looking at a map, and Aang was sitting on Appa's head.

"Well, I know it's near water." Aang said. I lifted my head of the saddle and peered over the side. We were surrounded by water.

"We must be getting close then." Sokka said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes. _I am so bored._

"Momo, marbles please!" Aang said. I looked over at him to see what he would do.

"Hey, Katara! Check out this airbending trick!" Aang held a marble in his hand, and used airbending to swirl it around in a really fast circle in midair.

"That's great Aang." She said, not even looking up.

"But you didn't even look!" Aang exclaimed. Katara looked up, and said it again. Except Aang wasn't even doing anything.

"I'm not even doing it!"

"Leave her alone, Airhead." Sokka said. "Girls need to concentrate when their sewing."

Both of us _girls _turned to glare at him.

"What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?" Katara asked, obviously annoyed with her brothers statement. I put a hand on my hip, and raised an eyebrow.

"Simple: Girls are better at fixing pants than guys, and guys are better at hunting and fighting and all that stuff." Sokka explained. "It's just the natural order of things."

If looks could kill, Sokka would be dead by now. Katara threw the pants (which still had a huge hole in the back) at him and they hit him in the face. I sniggered at Sokka's protests.

"Don't worry Sokka! Where we're going you won't need any pants!" Aang exclaimed as we flew towards a large island.

"I would prefer he wear pants, if it's all the same to you." I said.

~~Water~~

"We just made a pit stop yesterday." Sokka said. "Shouldn't we get a little more flying done today?"

"At this rate we won't reach the North Pole until spring!" Katara agreed.

"Don't worry about it." I said, stretching my arms. I hated being stuck on the saddle. There wasn't much to do, and there wasn't much room for someone to spread out completely.

"Yeah, and besides, Appa's tired already. Aren't ya, boy?" Aang said. Appa didn't make a sound. "I said, _aren't ya, boy_?" Aang said again, jabbing Appa's leg with his elbow. On cue, Appa opened his mouth and gave a fake yawn. He didn't even sound the least bit convincing.

"Wow. That was real convincing." Sokka said sarcastically. "Still, hard to argue with a ten ton magical monster."

"Wow, Sokka. You can't even win an argument against something that can't even talk." I commented. He glared at me. "Oh, come on, you set me up for that."

"Look!" We both turned from our argument to look at Aang. He was pointing toward the water. A large orange-ish red koi fish jumped out of the water. And when I say big, I mean huge. Like not the size it's supposed to be.

"That's why we're here." Aang said, and began taking off his clothes until he was only in his underwear. "The elephant koi. And I'm gonna ride it! Katara, watch me!" He dove into the water. A second later, he jumped above the water with a shocked expression. "COLD!"

Sokka and I exchanged looks. He made the "he's crazy" sign at me, which I agreed with wholeheartedly. We turned back to Aang, and saw him diving under the water, only to pop back out on the back of the koi fish. He was standing on it, and holding the dorsal fin. The fish then dove back underwater, and the only thing showing was the fin and Aang.

"GO, AANG!" I yelled, punching my fist in the air.

"He looks pretty good out there." Katara commented when she stopped cheering.

"Are you kidding? The fish is doing all the work!" Sokka argued.

"You only say that because you can't do it." I said, smiling at Sokka's annoyed expression.

"I could totally do that!" He snapped. "I just don't want to do it… right now."

"Of course." I said sarcastically.

"No, Appa, don't eat that!" Katara yelled, running over to Appa, who was eating mud… which I don't think was mud.

All of a sudden, out in the water, the koi fish, except the one Aang was riding, disappeared under the water. I narrowed my eyes, and saw a shadow behind Aang.

"AANG, GET OUT!" I screamed at him. Sokka saw the shadow and understood. "There's something in the water!"

"What's wrong?" Katara asked running over to us.

"Aang's in trouble! AANG!"

"Get out of there!"

"Hurry!"

Aang looked at us, and waved, misunderstanding what our gestures meant. All of a sudden, the koi fish bucked and sent him flying into the water. He came up a second later, and spit out a stream of water. He started gasping for air. All of our mouths dropped open in shock when a huge serrated fin came out of the water behind him. Aang slowly turned around, and when he saw the fin, he screamed and shot toward us. The fin followed him at top speed. He was actually almost running on top of the water. Aang shot out of the water, and slammed head first into Sokka, sending them both flying into a tree.

"What was that thing?" Katara asked, grabbing Aang's hand and pulling him up.

"I don't know, but let's not stick around to find out." Sokka said. "Time to hit the road."

Suddenly, five blurs of green jumped down on us from the trees. One grabbed Sokka under his arms, another pulled Katara's hood over her face, another just grabbed Aang by his shirt, and the fifth one grabbed my arms, twisted them behind me, and tied up my wrists. Then we were all thrown on the ground with blindfolds over our eyes.

"Ow…" I groaned.

"Or, we could stay a while." Sokka said, obviously a little scared.

~~Water~~

In about half an hour, or maybe twenty minutes, we were all tied together against a pole. We all had blindfolds over our eyes, so we couldn't see where we were or who had captured us.

"You four have some explaining to do." A man's voice said sternly.

"And if you don't answer all our questions, we're throwing you back into the water for the Unagi." A female voice snapped.

"SHOW YOURSELVES, COWARDS!" Sokka yelled.

"Hey, Sokka? I know you can't see this, but I'm rolling my eyes at you." I said.

Our blindfolds were suddenly ripped off, and I blinked at the exposure to the sun. Once my eyesight returned to normal, I saw our kidnappers. They were five young girls, probably about Sokka or my age, all dressed in heavy green dresses with armour over it, and fans tucked into their waste-bands. Their faces were covered with white and red face paint.

"Who are you? Where are the men that captured us?" Sokka demanded.

"Sokka, I'd hate to burst your bubble, but I think they captured us." I said, gesturing with my head toward the girls.

"Wait a second, there is no way a bunch of girls took us down." Sokka scoffed, making it sound humorous. The leader of the warriors came forward and grabbed Sokka's collar.

"A bunch of girls, huh? The Unagi's going to eat well tonight." She snarled.

"Wait, don't hurt him! My brother's just an idiot sometimes." Katara said quickly.

"Sometimes?" I muttered under my breath, and the leaders shot me a small smile.

"It's my fault." Aang said apologetically. "I wanted to ride the Elephant Koi."

"How do we know you're not Fire Nation spies?" The man said. "Kyoshi's stayed out of the war this long, and we intend to keep it that way."

"This one's Fire Nation." One of the warriors said, pointing at me in an accusatory way. "I can tell from the color of her eyes." I glared at her, and she glared back.

"Half." I corrected under my breath.

"This island is named for Kyoshi? I know Kyoshi!" Aang suddenly exclaimed.

"How could you possibly know her? Avatar Kyoshi was born here four hundred years ago. She's been dead for centuries!" The old man snapped. Wow, these people are rude.

"I know her because I'm the Avatar." Aang said. The old man looked shocked, but the leader of the warriors didn't believe him.

"That's impossible!" She snapped. "The last Avatar was an airbender who disappeared a hundred years ago!"

"That's me!" Aang said cheerfully.

"Throw the imposters to the Unagi." The old man said. The girls unfolded their fans, (which I think were made of metal) and advanced on us threateningly.

"Aang! Do some airbending." I hissed out of the corner of my mouth.

Aang suddenly broke his ropes and used airbending to shoot himself into the air, flipping over the top of the statue on top of the pole we were tied to. He then descended gracefully. The whole crowd watched him in amazement.

"It's true! You are the Avatar!" The old man exclaimed.

"Now, check this out!" Aang yelled, pulling out a marble and doing the same airbending trick he did earlier to impress Katara. I couldn't help but laugh a little when the crowd started screaming with joy, and I laughed even harder when one of them had foam coming out his mouth, and he fainted.

"Hey, mind untying us?" Sokka said, sounding a little annoyed. The warriors walked forward and untied the Water Tribe siblings ropes, but not mine. I glared at them, before burning off the bindings.

"And who are you?" The girl who had glared at me earlier snapped.

"I'm Tora." I said, crossing my arms. "And I'm a firebender, and a waterbender." The girl went to attack me with her fans, but the leader put out an arm, stopping her.

"How can you be both?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not any of your business." I said heatedly.

"If you're Fire Nation, why are you with the Avatar?" The leader asked. It was just a question, she didn't sound hostile about it.

"Because not all firebenders are on the Fire Lord's side." I said calmly.

"Yeah, Tora's our friend!" Aang said, coming over and standing next to me.

The old man stepped forward. "Well, if she's with the Avatar, I don't see any reason she can't be here. But we'll be keeping an eye on you!" He added coldly.

I blew my bangs out of my eyes in exasperation. The warrior who obviously didn't like me made an "I'm watching you" gesture with her hands. I mocked her gesture, and we had a glaring fest until the leader pulled her away. I sighed.

This was going to be a loooong couple of days.

~~Water~~

"Okay, I _officially_ hate it here." I said, walking into the living room of the house we were staying in. I dropped my coat onto the floor and fell backwards with a thud onto the mattress on the ground. Katara and Aang were sitting in front of a widespread of dessert treats. Sokka was sitting in the corner, looking miffed about something. Momo was searching for food from where he was sitting on the floor.

"Why? We're being treated like kings!" Aang said, sounding shocked.

"No, you are. Everyone hates me just because I'm Fire Nation." I said, covering my eyes with my arm.

"Haven't you dealt with that before?" Aang asked.

"Nah, the only time I've had someone hate me for being Fire Nation was Sokka. And a few of the villagers, but they came around eventually." I explained. "Before that, in the Fire Nation, if you hated the Fire Nation you basically hated yourself."

"Well, have some breakfast." Katara said, handing me a sticky bun. I took it, and began chewing.

"What's up with Ponytail?" I asked, glancing at Sokka.

Katara rolled her eyes. "He's just mad because a bunch of girls kicked his butt yesterday."

"They snuck up on me!" Sokka protested.

"Right, and then they kicked your butt." Katara finished. Sokka stood up and stomped over to us.

"Sneak attacks don't count!" He snapped. Sokka started pacing angrily around the room, waving his hands in the air. "Tie me up with ropes. I'll show them a thing or two. I'm not scared of any girls." He stomped over to us, and snagged several desserts from the table before walking outside the room, still muttering. "Who do they think they are anyway? Mmm… this is tasty." He slammed the door shut behind him.

"Well, that was interesting." I said, before grabbing another sticky bun. "Hey, just out of curiosity, when are we going to be leaving?"

"Soon." Katara promised.

"What?" Aang exclaimed, looking distressed.

"It's too risky for us to stay in one place for too long." Katara said.

"I'm sure we'll be fine. I mean, look how happy I'm making this town!" He turned his head so he could see the statue of Kyoshi, which was currently being worked on. "I mean, they're even cleaning up the statue in my honor!"

"Well, I'm glad you're happy about being the Avatar." Katara said. "I just hope it doesn't go to your head."

"Hey, you know me, I'm just a simple monk." Aang promised the Water Tribe girl, before leaning over the window railing. A bunch of squealing sounded from the ground below him, and the airbender looked down and saw a group of young girls watching him and waving. Aang blushed and grinned, while Katara blew a raspberry and I rolled my eyes.

"We'll see how long the 'simple monk' thing lasts." I sighed, before walking to my room. "I need a nap."

"Have fun." Katara said to me, sighing.

I fell face first onto my mattress in my room. "This is the worst place on earth." I said into my pillow. **(Obviously she hasn't been to Ba Sing Se yet.)** "I hate it so much. I hate it more than…" I tried to think of something I hate a lot. "Jeong-Jeong." I finally decided on one of the firebenders from the White Lotus. He was the one who had insisted I be sent away. "God, I hate him so much. I hope I can see him again just so I can punch him… maybe give him another scar." At the word scar, I started thinking of Zuko. Honestly, what was that guy's deal? He needs to loosen up. He spent the last two years hunting down Aang. I had heard about what happened to him, how he was burned in training accident, and left the Fire Nation or something like that.

I rolled over onto my side. Whatever, not like it matters.

~~Water~~

_Dream _

_Mom was in my dream. She almost always is. Sometimes she's just holding me, telling me she loves me, and other times her, dad, and me are together, acting like nothing's wrong. And then something always went wrong. Usually she just vanished, leaving me alone in the dark. Other times a dark red stain would spread across her chest._

_But I don't think this was a dream. It was more like a flashback, really. Something I couldn't remember._

_I was sitting with my legs crossed on my bed, my purple and red sheets underneath me. Mom was combing my hair, running a whale bone brush through it carefully. Even then, I understood that the few things my father had brought from the Southern Water Tribe were precious, and I was never to touch any of them without permission. _

_While Mom brushed my hair, she sang._

_**Little baby, hear my voice**_

_**I'm beside you, O maiden fair**_

_**Our young Lady, grow and see**_

_**Your land, your own faithful land**_

_**Sun and moon, guide us**_

_**To the hour of our glory and honour**_

_**Little baby, our young Lady**_

_**Noble maiden fair**_

(A/N This is the English version of "Noble Maiden Fair" from Brave. I don't own the song [but I wish I did.])

"_Mummy, why does Daddy look so sad today?" I asked her. Mom stopped combing my hair, sighed, and set the comb down. The dreams never showed her face. Never. Not even once._

"_Tora, you know how Daddy and I are from different Nations, right?" She asked. I nodded._

"_Well, today is the anniversary of the day he had to leave his home. And it makes him sad to remember it."_

"_Oh." We were quiet for a few seconds, before I asked, "Why does Daddy wear red, and why do you wear blue?"_

_It was true; my mother always wore blue. Her robes were always light blue, dark blue, medium blue, or some other shade of blue. And she wore her hair the way Water Tribe women did: With a long braid reaching her waist, and braided hair loopies. _

"_Because when Daddy came to the Fire Nation, I told him he had to wear red so he would look Fire Nation. In return, I told him I would dress like a Water Tribe woman every day, and that I would always wear blue." She smiled, and kissed my forehead. "Goodnight, My Painted Lady." She picked me up, placed me under my sheets, tucked the sheets over my shoulders and under my chin, and left the room. I rolled over onto my side and stared out the window at the full moon. _

_The Painted Lady was my favourite story when I was growing up. I read it so much that mom started calling me that._

_Even when I was five, I wondered how my parents had managed to fall in love despite the war between their people. But now, when I'm sixteen, I think I understand._

_When Love is true it finds a way. It always does. _

**Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. **

**-1 Corinthians. **


	8. Kyoshi Warriors Part 2

Kyoshi Warriors Part 2

**Yay, I've uploaded part 2! The day after I uploaded part 1! Record timing!**

**To be honest, I don't have anything to say. Except: remember that Zuko doesn't appear much in this episode, except for when he attacks Kyoshi.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender, or any of its characters. I only own Tora and her mom, and the idea for this story. If I did own Avatar, I would either make Tora a real character, or have the canon couples be Zuko/Katara, Toph/Aang, Suki/Sokka, Mai/Jet (Jet wouldn't die if I owned it) or Ty Lee/Jet. I would also have Bolin/Korra in the Korra series, or Mako/Korra, Iroh 2/Asami, and Bolin/Kyoshi Warrior girl. (I would have Kyoshi Warriors in it.)**

Kyoshi Warriors Part 2

I walked through the streets of Kyoshi. Quite a few people glared at me, but I continued on my way, ignoring them completely.

I noticed Sokka leaning against a tree outside of a dojo, so I joined him.

"What are you pouting about now?" I asked him.

He didn't answer, but he started muttering about "girls". Then he straightened and stood up, walking toward the dojo. I didn't have anything better to do, so I followed him.

Inside the dojo, the girls were practicing with their fans. It looked kind of cool.

"Sorry ladies." Sokka said, sounding sort of arrogant. "Didn't mean to interrupt your dance lesson. I was just looking for some place to get a little work out?"

"Well, you came to the right place." Suki, the leader, said. "Sorry about yesterday. I didn't know you too were friends with the Avatar." She added sincerely.

"It's cool. Normally, I would hold a grudge, but seeing as you guys are a bunch of girls, I'll make an exception."

"I should hope so." Suki said sarcastically. "A big, strong, man like you? We wouldn't stand a chance."

"True." Sokka said, and I rolled my eyes. "But don't feel bad. After all, I am the best warrior in my whole village."

"Yeah, best_ male_ warrior." I said, rolling my eyes again. "And that's only because-"

Sokka cut me off with a glare.

"So, who is the best warrior in your whole village?" The warrior who didn't like me asked snootily.

"I am." Both Sokka and me said at the same time. We glared at each other.

"In your dreams." Sokka snapped.

"More like in _your _dreams." I retorted.

"I'm the best."

"Then prove it." Suki said, looking amused.

"What do you mean?" Sokka asked, turning to her.

"I mean, fight me. Show us a few moves."

"Oh, um…"

Suki turned to the other girls. "Come on, girls. Wouldn't you like him to show us a few moves?"

All the girls giggled and nodded, showing they wanted him to fight Suki.

"Well, if that's what you want, I'd be happy too." He placed his hands on Suki's shoulders. "All right, you stand over here." He tried to move her, but she didn't budge. Sokka didn't seem to notice or care. "This may be a little tough, but try to block me."

Sokka threw a punch, and Suki calmly blocked him by hitting his shoulder with her fan. She didn't even look like she was trying.

Sokka rubbed his shoulder. "Of course, I was going easy on you."

"Of course." Both Suki and I said at the same time. She shot me a smirk, and I returned it.

"Let's see if you can _handle this_!" Sokka yelled. He lunged at Suki, who caught him in the back of his leg and tossed him back towards the door, forcing him to his butt.

"That does it!" He yelled, lunging at her again. Suki grabbed his arm, spun him in circles a few times, tied his arm to his leg with his belt, and threw him to the floor.

"Anything else you want to teach us?" Suki said smugly, unfolding her fan and fanning herself while all the girls and I laughed when Sokka blushed.

I smiled as I helped Sokka untie himself. He got up angrily and stomped out of the dojo, leaving us laughing.

"So, what do you want?" Suki asked, turning to me.

"Well, I was bored, and I followed him in here to see if anything interesting was going on. Seeing you kick his butt again was a bonus." I said shrugging. She smiled, and I noticed the other girls snigger a little. "But, seriously, I wanted to see if any of you would spar with me."

"What?" one of them asked in confusion.

"I want to spar with one of you. I'm good with a sword. I want to see if any of you are as good as I am." I said, not caring if I sounded arrogant. I had trained with my dad ever since I could walk.

"Alright, but you have to follow all our traditions." Suki said, sounding like she couldn't wait to see me get my butt kicked like Sokka. "You have to wear our clothing."

"Alright."

"Girls, suit her up!" Suki ordered. Two girls came out of the bunch, looking uncomfortable, but did so anyway.

"My names Hana." One of them said, obviously trying to be nice.

"Nice to meet you." I said. The other one didn't say anything, just started digging through a chest of spare uniforms. She emerged a second later holding the dark green shirt and skirt. The nameless one handed it to me without a word, and Hana dragged me over to a corner in the room. I pulled off my blue tunic and my white shirt, and pulled the green shirt over my head. Hana helped me out with the skirt. She then helped me with the armour and tied a green sash around my waist. She poked her head into a cabinet that had shelves of headdresses and black boots. While she did this, I pulled my hair back into a Fire Nation top knot with bangs coming down from either side.

Hana emerged from the cabinet with a pair of black boots in her hands, and she tossed them to me. They were too big, so she found another pair. Hana then pulled out a green headdress with gold strings coming from the sides. I took it from her and placed it against my forehead, and Hana showed me how to tie it on so it wouldn't fall off.

"Now sit." She ordered, forcing me onto my knees in a kneeling position. She pulled out two jars and a brush. She stuck the tip of the brush into one of the jars and started painting my face. Soon it was over, and she placed two metal fans in my hands.

"Now you look just like us." Suki said.

"Yup!" I said.

"Now let's see how well you do against Anyang, our best swordswoman." The girl who obviously didn't like me stepped forward with a sword in her hands. She glared at me, and I glared back.

Hana placed a sword in my hands, and the girls backed away to give us space.

"Any rules?" I asked Anyang.

"No rules." Anyang said, sneering.

We both were still for a moment, before Anyang lunged forward, slashing at me four times. Once at my ankles, once at my waist, once at my neck, and once at my legs. I blocked all her attacks easily, and stabbed at her head. She turned her head just in time (unfortunately). She made the same movement at me, and I slid to the left, leaping behind her. She spun around, and I swung my sword at her legs. She jumped up, then lunged at me, and I deflected her blade, our swords scraping against each other. Then I used the butt of my sword and shoved her to the ground. She sat there blinking for a second, before scrambling to her feet and continuing the fight.

She swung her blade at my neck, almost decapitating me, and I dropped to the floor, swinging my legs in a firebending motion and knocked her over again.

She got to her feet, me still on the floor, and brought her sword down, and I rolled out of the way just in time. I got to my feet, and we circled each other for a moment, before I swung my sword toward her, and she met it with her own. I ducked, and as soon as I got straight again, she started fighting me in a way that pushed us both out the door. I saw the Kyoshi Warriors running after us.

Anyang jumped to a tree branch that was a few feet off the ground, and jabbed forward at my neck. I turned sideways and hit her sword with my own. She jumped down from the branch and landed in a crouching position before charging again. Our swords met, and because we were forcing them against each other, neither of us could escape. As we both struggled for control, we started walking off to the side, and eventually into the middle of the village. Several people stopped what they were doing and stared at us.

"Why don't you just firebend at me already?" She hissed.

"Because I want to win this fight fairly." I replied, before dropping my sword down and stepping to the side quickly, making her stumble forward a bit. I kicked her in the back of the knee, forcing her down. She turned her head to face me, and pulled out a fan and threw it at me furiously. I dodged it, giving her enough time to get up and stab her sword at me.

Surprising everyone, especially myself, I suddenly flipped over the sword. The only damage Anyang's sword did to me was that she accidentally caught my skirt and tore it. Because of her momentum, Anyang still lunged forward, and her sword got stuck in a post holding up the roof of a houses patio. As she struggled to pull it out, I brushed a stray hair out of my face and waited. When she finally got it out, she spun around and swung the sword at me.

"You're so predictable!" I told her. "Do something you wouldn't normally do!"

"Tora, what are you doing?" I heard Katara yell at me from the side.

"Giving this girl a lesson." I yelled back. I swung my sword toward her, and she leaned back so far I wondered if her spine would snap. But she didn't lean back far enough, and my sword cut off an inch of her hair that had fallen from her ponytail. She straightened up, and charged toward me with her sword directed at me. I stepped out of the way before she could strike me. Then when she did it again, I waited until her sword was directly in front of my chest, and I swung my sword up, and knocked the blade out of her hand. It flew into the air, and when it fell back down, I caught it calmly in one hand, and pointed it at Anyang's chest.

The whole village was silent. The girl had her hands raised in defeat and was visibly shaking. I lowered the sword, handed it back to her, and bowed Fire Nation style. (One fist in my other hand and bowing only slightly.) She stared at me for a second, before finally bowing back. Then when we both straightened, she actually smiled at me.

"That was one of the best fights of my life. I'm honored to lose to you." She said. She, surprisingly, stuck her hand out. I took it, and we shook hands. "We got off on the wrong foot. Can we start over?"

"Sure. My name's Tora." I said, smiling back.

"I'm Anyang."

The villagers kept staring at us in shock, until Suki came forward and said, "Don't you have something better to do?" Then they went back to whatever they had been doing before. Suki turned back to me. "That was amazing! Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"I trained with my dad ever since I could walk. He's the best swordsman in the whole Fire Nation." I said, shrugging. It wasn't completely a lie. Even if my dad wasn't Fire Nation, he's the best swordsman there.

Suki grinned at me. "Would you like to come back tomorrow for more training?"

I smiled again. "I would be honored."

**This chapter is over. If the sword fight sounded lame, or was too long, then I'm sorry, but it sounded cooler in my head. And it needed to be long, because that's just how I do it.**

**If you're starting to think that Tora's a mary sue because she's that amazing at sword fighting, let me remind you that her dad is Piandao of the Fire Nation, "The greatest sword master and sword maker in Fire Nation history." In my opinion, if he had a kid, he would train them as soon as they could walk, or hold a sword, whichever came first. **


	9. Kyoshi Warriors Part 3

**Kyoshi Warriors Part 3**

**Don't really have anything to say… except this is the last part of Kyoshi Warriors.**

**OH! And, to those people that reviewed: Thank you all for reviewing. Really. All your comments were so nice!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it, never will. [Looks over at secret files on computer that will access the proper forms for owning Avatar the Last Airbender.]**

After the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors training, I walked back to the house feeling pretty confident. I think I was almost skipping, if you can believe it. Several people stared at me, but it was most likely because I had won a pretty impressive fight in front of all of them.

As soon as I entered the house, I was met with the expressions of my three friends.

Katara looked furious. Aang looked shocked. Sokka looked a little jealous.

"Hey, guys!" I said cheerfully. "What's for dinner?"

"ARE YOU INSANE?" Katara yelled furiously at me. I didn't even blink. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? DID YOU ACTUALLY THINK YOU COULD WIN AGAINST A KYOSHI WARRIOR?"

"I did win, didn't I?"

"That's beside the point! You could have been hurt!"

"I wasn't."

"But you could have been!"

"But I wasn't."

"But you could have been!"

"But I wasn't!" I exclaimed at Katara. "Katara, I appreciate the concern and everything, but honestly, I wasn't too worried that I would lose."

Before Katara could say anything else, Aang interrupted. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

I pulled my hair out of its top knot and shook it furiously, so it hung in my face. "My dad's the best swordsman in the whole Fire Nation. Maybe the whole world even. He taught me since I could hold a sword without falling over."

"I can't believe it!" I looked over at Sokka. "We could've had another warrior in the village this entire time, and you ever said anything!"

"Whenever I tried to step in and teach the kids, you would say, _'oh, Tora, this is a man's lesson, it's not a girls place to fight!_'" I said, imitating his whiney voice he used whenever he said it.

"Wait a minute!" Aang suddenly exclaimed. "Is that why I found that sword in your bag?"

"You went through my stuff?" I asked at the same time Katara turned toward me with a furious look on her face again.

"Since when have you had a sword?" She demanded.

I shrugged. "Ever since I came to the Water Tribe."

"Why did you bring that sword?"

"Because, I made it myself when I was thirteen." I said calmly.

"You made a sword?" both boys asked me in excitement at the same time.

"Yep."

Then for the rest of the day, the boys asked me about sword fighting and sword making. Katara just sat in the corner, looking very peeved.

Later, when we had finished dinner and were going to sleep, I asked Katara how Aang was doing with the little girls that kept following him everywhere.

"He's been showing off for them ever since we got here! The only time he wasn't was when you were fighting that girl, and even then, the girls kept crowding around him! It's like I don't even know him anymore!" Katara said in frustration, throwing her hands in the air.

"Katara, do you think he's doing it _for_ the attention?" I asked her, watching her from my bed.

"Of course he's doing it for the attention, why else would he be doing it?"

"Well, I know if I were Aang, and if I found out my people had been completely wiped out just a few days ago, I know I probably would be doing the exact same thing." I said, propping myself up on my elbows. "I would want to feel needed by someone, and at best, needed by a bunch of girls who worship my every move."

Katara was silent for a moment. "I never thought of it that way. Now I feel guilty!"

"Don't feel guilty Katara. I don't know for sure if that's why he's doing it, but it's most likely the reason." I extinguished the candle with a flick of my hand, plunging the room into darkness. "Go to sleep Katara. We should leave tomorrow, and we'll need our sleep."

"Alright." I heard shuffling, then the sound of Katara pulling the blankets around her.

"'Night Katara."

"Goodnight, Tora."

~~Water~~

"Think of the fan as an extension of your arm."

"That's exactly what my dad told me about swords."

"So think of the fan as a short sword, but without the sharp end."

Suki and I were standing in the middle of the dojo, clad in our green warrior outfits. The rest of the warriors had the day off, leaving only Suki and me to practice. Suki was showing me their technique with the fans. It was almost exactly like sword fighting.

We both heard a noise, and turned our head to see Sokka standing awkwardly in the doorway. "Uh, hey, guys."

"Hoping for another dance lesson?" Suki said, mocking what he had said yesterday.

"No... I... well, let me explain." Sokka said, trying to figure out what to say.

"Spit it out! What do you want?"

Sokka suddenly got to his knees and bowed his head. "I would be honored if you would teach me."

I blinked in surprise. I did not think that would happen.

"Even if I'm a girl?" Suki snapped.

"I'm sorry if I insulted you earlier. I was wrong." Sokka said apologetically.

"We normally don't teach outsiders, let alone boys."

"Please make an exception. I won't let you down."

Suki suddenly straightened, like she had an idea. "All right."

Now I was even more surprised.

"But you have to follow all of our traditions." Suki finished. I realized what she was saying, and smiled evilly.

"Of course!" Sokka agreed.

"And I mean_ ALL_ of them."

A few minutes later, Sokka was standing in front of us, wearing the dress and the makeup. I was laughing at him in my head. He looked really ridiculous.

"Do I have to wear this?" He demanded, looking embarrassed. "It's sort of… girly."

"It's a warriors uniform. You should be proud!" Suki said, smiling at him with me. "The silk thread symbolises the brave blood that flows through our veins. The gold insignia represents the honour of the warrior's heart."

Sokka straightened, looking proud. "Bravery and honor."

Aang suddenly appeared in the doorway with a mischievous look on his face. "Hey Sokka! Nice dress." Then he ran off, Sokka slumped again, and I burst out laughing at the look on his face. Suki smirked at Sokka's discomfort.

"Stupid Aang… Stupid Avatar… stupid dress..." Sokka muttered under his breath as he pulled out a fan.

~~Water~~

Suki and the Water Tribe boy started circling each other with their fans out. I was watching from the sidelines with my chin resting in the palm of my hand.

"You're not going to master it in one day." Suki said. "Even I'm not that good."

"I think I'm starting to get it." Sokka said, sort of losing his balance a little. He did a series of awkward and shaky movements, before thrusting the fan forward. It shot out of his hand, out the door, and hit a tree outside. I smiled.

"It's not about strength." Suki said, walking back to Sokka. "Our technique is about using your opponents' force against them. Loosen up. Think of the fan as an extension of your arm." Suki got into a fighting stance, and Sokka looked really determined. "Wait for an opening and then..."

Suki lunged at Sokka, and he suddenly made a move that looked like he slammed into her. Either way, Suki ended up on the floor. My mouth dropped open in shock, and Suki looked a little embarrassed. She quickly got to her feet. "I fell on purpose to make you _feel_ better!"

"I got you! Admit I got you!" Sokka said, pointing at Suki with a huge smile on his face. Suki grabbed his finger and started bending it backwards.

"Okay, it was a lucky shot." She said smiling. "Let's see if you can do it again." They started circling each other again, and I got to my feet. I walked out of the dojo, leaving the two little lovebirds by themselves.

The town's chief, I think his name was Oyagi or something. He ran right past me and into the dojo. I heard him say something, and Sokka yell "I'm not a girl!" Before Suki and the chief ran past me. I ran after them.

"What's going on?" I asked Oyagi.

"Firebenders are here!"

_Oh, just fantastic._

~~Water~~

I was helping Katara round up all the people and get them back inside. Then I ran back to the house, and grabbed my sword. "There is no way I'm leaving you behind."

I leaned out the window, and saw the Fire Nation ship landing on the shores. I narrowed my eyes and ran down the steps of the house, before hiding behind a building. I put the fans back in my green waistband and pulled out my sword.

"Come out, Avatar!" It was Zuko. Of course it was Zuko. "You can't hide from me forever!"

Silence.

"Find him."

Zuko's soldiers started down the streets, perched on Komodo Rhinos. I stood still, watching them.

A blur of green suddenly shot behind a building across the street from me. Suddenly, the Kyoshi Warriors leapt at Zuko's men, attacking them. I ran after them, sword in my right hand, and fire in the other. I dodged a spear that one girl had pulled from the soldiers grip, and aimed at Zuko. Fire burst from my hand, surprising Zuko, but he met the blast with his own fire. I was suddenly attacked by one of the soldiers, and he aimed his spear at me. I quickly spun around and sliced his spear in half with my sword, before yanking it out of his hands and kicking him in the chest, knocking him the ground. Then I jumped onto the fence of a house's patio, and jumped onto another soldiers back. He started going crazy with his rhino, spinning it around, and forcing its tail to swipe back and forth so it would knock me off. But I held on like crazy, and brought the butt of my sword down onto the guy's helmet, knocking him unconscious. I pushed him off the rhino, leaving me with the reins to the animal.

"Hey!" I turned my head and saw Aang standing in the street. "Over here!"

"Finally." Zuko said. He threw three fire balls at Aang, which he dodged. He then started twirling his staff over his head and propelled himself into the air. Zuko shot another blast of fire, and knocked Aang's staff out of his hands. Aang fell to the ground, and Zuko rushed at him.

"Aang!" I yelled, pulling out my fans. He looked at me. "Here!" I tossed the fans to the airbender, and he caught them in his hands easily. Aang suddenly used the fans and bended a huge gust of wind at Zuko, knocking him off his feet and crashing through the wall of a house. Aang tossed the fans back to me, and grabbed his staff, flying into the air.

It was then that I noticed that almost every house in the village was on fire. Even the statue of Kyoshi. I stood on top of the komodo rhino and started to bend the fire away from the houses. The fires soon started to recede, and I used water to extinguish the last of the flames. Then I turned to the statue and bended the water over it, and let it drop over Kyoshi. The flames in the village were gone.

"Tora, come on!" Sokka yelled at me, running past the rhino I was on. I jumped off the animal and ran after him, crawling onto Appa's tail. Aang gave him the signal to leave, and we left Kyoshi Island. Underneath us, Zuko and the soldiers saw us leaving, and promptly ran back to the ship.

"I know it's hard." Katara said to Aang, who looked upset. "But you did the right thing. Zuko would have destroyed the whole town if we stayed."

"I put out the fires, Aang." I told him. He looked at me. "There's nothing to worry about."

The Avatar gave a small smile. "You look good in green."

Then I realized I was still wearing the Kyoshi Warrior outfit. "It'll come in handy for disguises." I shrugged.

"Sokka… why are you in a dress?" Katara asked her brother. Both me and Aang started laughing as Sokka furiously started rubbing off his warrior makeup.

**Not my best chapter. I thought the last fight seemed sort of forced. **

**Kyoshi Warriors is DONE! Now I can move onto Omashu! If I'm feeling up to it, I might be able to have it by tomorrow. Probably not though, so don't get your hopes up.**


	10. Omashu, Nuts, and Bad Acting

**Omashu, Nuts, and Bad Acting**

**Don't really have anything to say. **

**Tora: Lady of the Spirit doesn't own anything but the idea for this story and me.**

**Sokka, Katara, Aang, Zuko, and Iroh: We belong to Nickelodeon!**

"Finally!" I yelled, jumping down from the saddle. "We were stuck up there for so long; I thought my legs would wither up and fall off!"

"Oh, calm down." Katara said, rolling her eyes. But she was smiling.

"Ladies and Sokka, I present to you the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu!" Aang said, throwing his arms wide, presenting the city. It was impressive, I've got to admit. It was so big, and it was made entirely out of stone. Unlike the Fire Nation, who made most of their buildings out of metal.

"I used to always come here to visit my friend Bumi!" Aang said, smiling.

"Wow. They don't have cities like this in the South Pole!" Katara said.

"They have buildings here that don't melt!"

"It's so big." I mused, staring at it.

"Well, I heard Ba Sing Se is even bigger." Aang told me. "Let's go slow pokes! The real fun is inside the city!" He started to take off on his glider, but Katara stopped him.

"Wait Aang! It could be dangerous if people find out you're the Avatar, or Tora's Fire Nation." She said, glancing at me. She knew I didn't like hiding I was Fire Nation. I shrugged, telling her that I didn't care.

"What do you want us to do? Grow a moustache?" Aang said sarcastically.

"I have an idea." I said. When they looked at me, I tilted my head toward Appa.

"What about you?" Katara asked.

"I have the Kyoshi Warriors outfit. I can wear that." I said, shrugging again.

A few minutes later, Aang had a beard and a wig made out of Appa's fur, and I was dressed in Kyoshi's warrior dress and had my hair pulled back into a braid.

"Ugh. This is so itchy!" Aang exclaimed, scratching under his wig. "How do you live in this stuff?" He asked Appa. The sky bison just snorted on him.

"Great, now you look just like my grandfather." Sokka said dryly.

"Well, Aang is a hundred and twelve years old." Katara commented.

Aang twirled his staff, before leaning against it like a cane. "Let's get to skippin', young whippersnappers!" He said in an old man voice. "The big city awaits!"

After twenty minutes of walking, we were nearing the wall of the city. Aang was telling us how we were going to love it, and how the people in Omashu were the friendliest in the world. Not even five seconds after he said that, one of the guards by the wall started yelling at a cabbage merchant about "rotten cabbages" and "what kinda slum do you think this is?" Then he earthbended the cabbages right over the side of the pathway, sending the cabbages down into the abyss.

"No, my cabbages!" The cabbage guy yelled in despair. We all looked over the cliff and saw the cabbages falling into the creek very, very, _very,_ far down.

"_Just keep smiling!"_ Aang said through his smile. We approached the guard, who earthbended a huge rock over Aang's head, making me squeak.

"State your name and business!" The guard ordered. Aang shot out of underneath the boulder, way too fast for his supposed age. He pointed his finger in the guards face, making him drop the boulder.

"My business is my business, young man, and _none_ of yours! I have half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside!" Aang yelled in the guards face. The Water Tribe siblings and I started freaking out, but I managed to keep my freaking out inside me.

"_Grandpa_!" I said through my forced smile, putting a hand on his shoulder and clenching it tightly. "Why don't you just tell the nice man _who can arrest us or send us over the cliff_ your name and business here in Omashu,_ the __**friendliest place on earth**__!"_ I said through clenched teeth.

Aang seemed to get over himself. "Name's Bonzu Pipinpadaloxicopolis, _the Third_! And these are my grandkids." He said, gesturing to the rest of us.

"Hi. Aya Pipinpadaloxicopolis. Nice to meet you." I said cheerfully. "This is my sister June." I gestured to Katara, who came forward and waved politely.

The guard stared at us for a moment, before pointing at the two of us. "You two seem like responsible young ladies. See that your grandfather stays out of trouble! Enjoy Omashu."

"We will." Katara and I both said at the same time. The guard motioned for us to pass, and Sokka followed us.

"Wait a minute!" We all turned around to see the guard glaring at Sokka. "You seem like a strong young man. Show some respect for the elderly and carry your grandfather's bag!"

"Good idea!" Aang said, pulling off his bag and throwing it to Sokka. I snickered. The wall in front of us suddenly started to move apart, revealing two more interlocking walls that were slowly moving apart. We stared in amazement, before walking through it. I noticed Momo's ears suddenly poke out of Aang's wig, and stuffed them back into the fur.

We all stared in disbelief at the impressive city in front of us. It was filled with houses with the roofs painted Earth Kingdom green. There were chutes all over the city, with an occasional package shooting past us.

"This is the Omashu delivery system. Miles and miles of tubes and chutes. Earthbending brings the packages up and gravity brings them down." Aang said.

"Great, so they get their mail on time." Sokka said, sounding like he didn't even care.

"They do get their mail on time, but my friend Bumi found a better use for these chutes..." Aang said with a mischievous look on his face. "I'll show you. Come on!"

~~Water~~

A few minutes later, we were all sitting in one of the package carts, teetering back and forth over the slide.

"One ride. Then we're off to the North Pole. Airbender's honour." Aang promised. I was grinning like crazy, while Katara and Sokka looked a little terrified.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go already!" I exclaimed impatiently. I was practically bouncing in my seat with excitement.

"You know, this sounded like fun at first, but now that I'm up here, I'm starting to have second thoughts!" Katara screamed as we shot down the chute. I started screaming with joy at the top of my lungs, clinging to Aang. We started shooting past a chute next to us, and I could see that it was going to merge with our chute in a few minutes. Unfortunately, a cart carrying a bunch of spears came rocketing down that chute, and when it merged with ours, it almost stabbed Sokka, who had to duck to avoid getting killed. We all started making distressed noises, and Aang suddenly started rocking the bin back and forth, sending us over the side.

"Men, you'll be going off to combat soon." A guard said to his soldiers down below the gaang. "It's important that you be prepared for anything." Almost exactly after he said this, the bin carrying the group hit the ground.

"Get your foot out of my face!" I yelled at Aang as he airbended us off the ground and back into the air.

"Get your face off my foot!" He yelled back. We landed back into a chute, making us all sigh in relief.

"Aang, do something!" Katara yelled at him. "Use your airbending!"

"Yeah! That'll make us go even faster!"

"YEAH!" I screamed, throwing my hands in the air with excitement.

"NO!" Sokka and Katara yelled at me.

Down below us, a bin had been stopped by one of the guards, and we were going to crash into it. We all screamed. The earthbender pushed the bin out of our way, and we sighed in relief. Then he earthbended another bin in front of us, and we all started screaming again. Instead of hitting the bin, we hit the side of the trench, and we shot off the chute again. We all started falling out of the bin, making us scream even louder, and Aang airbended us back into the bin. We hit a roof and bounced off it and through a window, shattering a guy's vase.

"SORRY!" I yelled over my shoulder at him. We broke through the window of the guy's house, and shot into another person's living room. Then we crashed through the wall of a balcony and started falling again, and we all screamed even louder than before.

We suddenly hit the ground, crashing through that cabbage merchant's cart.

"MY CABBAGES! You're gonna pay for this!"

"I only have one thing to say." I said slowly pulling myself off the ground. "That was AWESOME! Can we do it again?"

"NO!" pretty much everyone shouted.

~~Water~~

"I am never going back to Omashu." I stated, as Katara and I waited for Sokka to come back with dinner.

"We'll have to eventually. When Aang masters waterbending, we'll probably come back so Aang can learn Earthbending from King Bumi." Katara pointed out.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, then I'm never going back to Omashu unless we have to."

Sokka came out of a group of bushes, holding a sack.

"Great, you're back! What's for dinner?" Aang asked, sitting up.

"We've got a few options. First, round nuts and some sort of oval shaped nuts, and some rock shaped nuts that… might just be rocks. Dig in!" Sokka said, dumping the nuts out of his bag. We all stared at him for a moment, before Katara said, "Seriously, what else you got?"

Sokka glared at us for a moment, before he opened his bag and looked into it.

Suddenly, a loud **BOOM** burst through the silence of the forest. All of us jumped, and Sokka shrieked, "What was that?"

"It's coming from over there!" Aang exclaimed, pointing over to where the noise was coming from. Three of us ran over to where Aang was pointing.

"Shouldn't we run away from huge booms, not towards them?" Sokka yelled at us. I rolled my eyes in exasperation.

"Come on, Sokka!" We followed the noise to a river bed that had dried up, and peered through the branches of a tree that had fallen over. Standing a few feet away from where we were, was a boy, probably around our age, with long hair and Earth Kingdom clothes. He was moving a large boulder around carefully.

"An earthbender!" Katara said in amazement.

"Let's go meet him!" Aang said to Sokka.

"I don't think that's a good idea." I said nervously. "He might think we're a threat and try to take us out."

"I'm with Tora on this one. Let's try to approach him cautiously."

"Sokka?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

I pointed to Katara, who had run out from the tree while Sokka was talking. She was facing the earthbender with a smile on her face. "Hello there! I'm Katara. What's your name?"

The earthbender turned to Katara, with a look of surprise on his face. Then he dropped his rock, and sprinted away, Earthbending a pile of rocks down to block the river bed so we couldn't follow him.

"Nice to meet you!" Aang yelled after him. I wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not.

"I just wanted to say 'hi'." Katara said, sounding disappointed. I put a hand on her shoulder.

"He has to be running somewhere, doesn't he? We might be able to find a village. And where there's a village, there's food!" I pointed out.

"Which means no nuts for dinner!" Katara said in excitement, her smile returning.

"Exactly! After that guy!" I shouted, pointing after him like a hero leading an expedition.

"Hey, I worked hard for those nuts!" Sokka yelled after us as we ran off.

~~Water~~

We were now standing in the market in the village we had found. Katara was looking around, searching for the boy probably, and Aang was trying out a hat at merchant cart. I laughed when Aang offered to pay the guy with the nuts Sokka found.

"What do you think?" Aang said, gesturing to his new hat.

"I think you look ridiculous." I stated, pulling the brim of the hat over his eyes.

"Well, you…" Aang struggled to find something to insult me with. "You walk funny!"

I raised an eyebrow. Then I heard Katara say "Hey!" And saw her run into a small house.

"Let's go see what she's doing." I said, gesturing to where she had disappeared. Sokka nodded in agreement, and the boys led the way into the house.

We came into the room just in time to hear Katara say, "Why did you run away before?"

The earthbender kid looked nervous. "You must have me confused with some other kid." He said, obviously lying.

"No, she doesn't." I said. "We saw you earthbending."

The earthbender kid suddenly got into a fighting stance, while an old lady who I didn't notice before gasped in horror. I stared at them.

"You can't take Haru away!" The old lady, who I guess was Haru's mother, said in terror.

"Why would I take him away?" I asked in confusion. I admit I was wearing a Fire Nation tunic, so I understand why they would be so defensive. But I had no reason to take the kid away.

"What are you doing here?" Haru demanded.

"Um, I'm with them." I said, jerking my thumb in my friend's direction. Haru turned to the others, now looking confused.

"Why are you with someone from the Fire Nation? You're not Fire Nation. I can tell." Haru asked, looking very perplexed.

"Tora's our friend." Katara explained.

"You're friends with a firebender?" Haru said, looking even more perplexed.

I placed my hands on my hips and glared at him. "Not _everybody_ in the Fire Nation are evil."

"But-"

Haru was cut off when there was a knock on the door.

"Open up!" A loud obnoxious sounding voice came from outside.

"Fire Nation! Act natural!" Sokka ordered in a whisper.

When the door opened, Katara was standing in the middle of the room with a mouthful of nuts, Aang was leaning against a barrel (which he fell into), Sokka and Haru were looking at something with interested looks on their faces, and I was chewing on an apple like a chipmunk-squirrel.

"What do you want? I already paid you this week." Haru's mother said coldly.

"The tax just doubled. You wouldn't want an accident, would you?" the soldier asked, smirking. A fire ball appeared in his hands. "Fire is sometimes so difficult to control."

I narrowed my eyes at the man. Spirits, I hate it when people assume I'm evil when they find out I'm Fire Nation, but people like this soldier made me realize why so many people did.

Haru's mother's face suddenly became sad and resigned. She went and got a small wooden box from the back, and opened it up in front of us all, revealing a few coins. She picked them up and handed them to the soldier, who walked back to the door. He suddenly tossed back a small one. "You can keep the copper ones." Then he did a Fire Nation bow in my direction, which I returned. But inside I was fuming.

"Nice guy." Sokka said sarcastically. "How long has the Fire Nation been here?"

"Five years. Fire Lord Ozai uses our town's coal mines to fuel his ships." Haru's mother said bitterly.

"They're thugs." Haru said suddenly. He looked angry and sullen. "They steal from us, and everyone here is too much of a coward to do anything about it."

"Quiet, Haru. Don't talk like that."

_They're not cowards. They want to protect themselves and their families_. I thought. _Those soldiers wouldn't hesitate to put a fire ball to a toddlers head at the very mention of a rebellion._

"But Haru's an earthbender! He can help!" Katara exclaimed.

"Earthbending is forbidden. It's caused nothing but misery for this village. He must never use his abilities." Haru's mother said sadly.

"How can you say that?" Katara asked in shock. "Haru has a gift. Asking him not to earthbend is like asking me not to waterbend, or Tora not to firebend." I had recently asked my friends to say I was just a firebender if someone asked what sort of bender we were. "It's a part of who we are."

"You don't understand." The mother said.

"I understand that Haru can help you fight back." Katara countered. "What can the Fire Nation do to you that they haven't done already?"

"They could take Haru away!" I gasped in horror when she said this. "Like they took his father."

~~Water~~

The next day, Sokka, Aang and I were in the barn. Haru's mother let us stay for the night, but she said we should leave in the morning, so we were getting ready to leave. Katara was getting water for our journey.

Speak of the devil, Katara suddenly burst into the barn, looking extremely upset. "They took him! They took Haru away!"

"What?" I gasped, getting up.

"The old man turned him in to the Fire Nation. It's all my fault, I forced him into earthbending!"

"Slow down, Katara. When did this happen?" Sokka said, trying to calm down his sister.

"Haru's mother said they came for him at midnight."

Sokka suddenly looked depressed. "Then we can't track him. He's long gone."

Katara suddenly got a determined look on her face. "We don't need to track him. The Fire Nation is going to take me right to Haru."

"And why, exactly, would they do that?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Because they're going to arrest me for earthbending."

~~Water~~

I was hiding behind a rock with Aang. Aang's job was to airbend into the air vents when Katara gave the signal. My job was to get Aang to focus. I think my job was tougher.

I suddenly heard Sokka start talking in a very loud, much exaggerated voice "Get out of my way, pipsqueak!" So the soldiers had finally come.

Katara started talking with the same voice. "How dare you call me "pipsqueak" you giant-eared cretin!"

"What did you call me?"

"A giant-eared cretin! Look at those things. Do herds of animals use them for shade?" I snickered at her comment. It _was_ kind of funny.

"You better back off!" Sokka yelled. Then I heard him mutter something, but I couldn't hear what he said.

"I will not back off! I bet elephants get together and make fun of how large your ears are!"

"That's it – you're going down!"

"I'll show you who's boss – earthbending style!" Katara yelled.

I was so wrapped up in watching the little play I hadn't been paying attention to Aang. I turned back to him to see him spacing out.

"I SAID, EARTHBENDING STYLE!" Katara yelled, sounding like she said it through clenched teeth. Aang jumped, and airbended into the vents, and I turned back to the play. The boulder Katara "lifted" floated off the ground, revealing Momo with his arms in the air, looking like he was earthbending it.

"The lemur!" one of the soldiers gasped. "He's earthbending!"

I mentally slapped my forehead. "No, you idiots, it's the girl!" Sokka yelled.

"Oh, right." The soldier said, sounding embarrassed.

"I'll hold her!" Sokka yelled, planting both of his hands on her shoulders tightly. Then he whispered something into Katara's ear.

When Katara had been led off by the soldiers, Sokka turned to Momo, who was perched on my shoulder. "Momo, _you_ have some very big ears!"

"Come on, giant-eared cretin." I sighed.

~~Water~~

Pieces of burning coal and fire zoomed past me, several of them nearly burning me. I grabbed several chunks of coal, burned them, and threw them as hard as I could toward the warden.

"Guys, throw me some coal!" Aang yelled, airbending a small funnel, one end directed at the enemy firebenders. We all started placing the coal into the funnel, sending them flying toward the warden and the soldiers. They were all knocked over. Then the earthbenders moved the coal, making a small island out of it. The coal was moved over the side of the prison, and it hovered over the water.

"No, please! I can't swim!" The warden yelled in desperation.

"I heard cowards float." Haru's dad, Tyro, said with a smirk. Then he let it drop.

I couldn't resist. I ran over to the railing, leaned over it, and yelled, "HA!"

To my surprise, a lot of people laughed.

An hour later we were standing on one of the Fire Nation ships, now under the command of the Earth Kingdom. A lot of the earthbenders were surprised to see a firebender on their side, but they got over it soon enough. Now we were all getting ready to get on Appa and leave.

"I want to thank you for saving me. For saving us." Haru said to Katara.

Katara blushed. "All it took was a little coal."

"It wasn't the coal, Katara, it was you."

Tyro put a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for helping me find my courage, Katara of the Water Tribe. My family and everyone here owes you much."

"So, I guess you're going home now?" Katara asked.

"Yes, to take back my village." He turned to the rest of the former prisoners and raised a fist, talking in a loud voice. "To take back ALL of our villages! The Fire Nation will regret the day they set foot on our land!"

Everyone cheered as loud as they could. I punched my fist in the air, and whistled and cheered.

"Come with us." Haru offered.

"I can't. Your mission is to take back your home. Ours is to get Aang to the North Pole."

I crawled over the side of the railing of the ship and dropped onto Appa's head. Aang was airbending a small piece of coal around in the air. I tossed a small flame toward the coal, making it burn, and Aang nearly dropped it.

I looked up when I heard Katara gasp. "My mother's necklace! It's gone!"

"It must have fallen off during the fight." I said, standing up.

"We have to go back and find it!" Katara exclaimed, looking immensely distressed.

"Katara, we can't. If we keep stopping, we'll never get to the north pole." Sokka said sadly.

"But-"

"Katara, remember when you lost your necklace during that blizzard a few years ago?" I asked her. It was before I came to the tribe, but Katara told me about it while we were taking a walk around in the snow.

Katara nodded.

"You said that when you lost it, you had fallen in the snow and it fell off. You didn't notice until you got home, but by then it was dark, and when you went out the next morning the blizzard had started." I continued. "And then, when the blizzard was over, you thought for sure you'd never find it. You thought it was lost forever."

Katara nodded sadly, remembering.

"And you told me, that when you ran off to cry about losing it, what did you find at your feet?"

"Her mother's necklace?" Haru asked, making a guess.

"Exactly!" I nodded, pointing at him.

"What is the point of this story?" Katara asked.

"Someone up there," I pointed to the sky. "Wants you to keep that necklace. And no matter what, someone up there," I pointed up again. "Will make sure you find it."

Katara sighed. "Thanks for the support, Tora. But I honestly doubt that I'll find it this time."

"Don't give up, Katara." Haru said, smiling at her.

_Oooh, Katara's got two people crushing on her. Don't know that for sure, but I'm getting that vibe._

"Thanks Haru." Katara sighed again, getting on Appa. "I hope we'll see each other again."

As we took off, I saw Haru and his dad waving at us. The earthbenders all yelled out goodbyes. I noticed Katara still looked sad.

_Well, who wouldn't be? I would be devastated if I lost my necklace. _Just to be sure it was still on my neck, I reached up and touched it. It was there, which made me let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

~~Water~~

Back in what used to be the earthbenders prison, Katara's necklace was lying on the floor amongst the coal and abandoned weapons.

Zuko got down and picked it up, holding it in his hand.

He stared at it for a moment, before he looked out into the distance.

_The Avatar was here._

**Bet you thought I was going to have Tora's necklace fall off too, didn't ya? Well, SURPRISE! **

**I decided I didn't want to go that way. It just would seem kind of pointless to me to have her necklace fall off too, because, SPOILER ALERT, she doesn't get captured by Zuko like Katara did in The Waterbending Scroll. **


	11. The Winter Solstice Part 1

**The Winter Solstice Part 1**

**Sorry for the long wait. First I didn't have time (stupid homework) then I didn't have any ideas (damn writers block) and then my family went on a road trip to somewhere without wi-fi. **

**OH, and just to remind you all, in case you forgot, Tora is a firebender and a waterbender. But it seems she hasn't been using her waterbending since the South Pole, right? Because now they're travelling around the Earth Kingdom, people assume that because she's Fire Nation, she's a firebender. So she can't use her waterbending as much. But she still can bend both fire and water! **

**Just reminding people, in case they forgot.**

**Disclaimer: **

**Tora: Lady of the Spirit doesn't own Avatar. (No matter how much she wants to.)**

**Aang: Why would she want to own me?**

**Me: No, I want to own Avatar, not THE Avatar.**

**Aang: Oooh… I still don't get it.**

**Tora: I didn't expect you to.**

**Done, now on with the story!**

"Those clouds look so soft, don't they?" Katara asked dreamily, staring at them over the edge of the saddle. "Like you could jump down and you'd land in a big, soft, cottony heap."

"Maybe you could give it a try!" Sokka told her from where he sat, whittling.

"You're _hilarious._"

"I'll try it!" Aang offered, then promptly grabbed his staff and jumped off the saddle, plunging into the clouds below us.

"Let's see how this turns out." I said, leaning over the saddle and staring at where he had disappeared.

A few seconds later, Aang shot out from the clouds on the other side and landed in front of us, soaking wet. "Turns out clouds are made of water!" He said cheerfully, then he airbended himself dry.

I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I frowned, and stared in that direction, trying to see what it was. "What is that?"

The clouds cleared up, and we could all see it clearly. It was a forest… but it was wrong. There was a very large patch in the middle that was black, instead of green like the rest was.

"It's like a scar…" Sokka said.

~~Water~~

We landed right in the center of the black forest.

I inspected the ground, the burned trees, and the remains of everything there.

_Fire Nation._

At the moment, I really, really, _really,_ hated my people.

"Fire Nation!" Sokka yelled furiously. "Those evil savages make me sick! They have no respect for-"

Katara shushed him, and he responded with, "What, I'm not allowed to be angry?"

I sighed, and pointed to Aang. He was kneeling on the ground with a depressed look on his face. He scooped up the ash on the ground and poured it through his fingers. "Why would anyone do this?"

"It's probably a warning to a village somewhere around here. They probably managed to keep the Fire Nation out somehow, and they're giving the village a sign that says 'you can't fight us forever'." I said darkly. Katara and Sokka both glared at me, and I realized they hadn't needed an answer. Now Aang looked even more depressed.

"How could I have let this happen?" Aang asked.

"Aang, you didn't let this happen. This has nothing to do with you." Katara said, trying to comfort him.

"Yes, it does. The Avatar is supposed to protect nature. But I don't even know how to do my job." Aang sighed.

"Of course you don't." I said, coming over and sitting next to him. "I don't think there's anyone around who knows how to be the Avatar. Except Bumi, of course. But I don't think he'd be much help."

"Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku would help me."

"The Avatar before you? He died a hundred years ago. How are you supposed to talk to him?" Sokka asked in confusion.

"I don't know." Aang sighed again, dropping his head.

"Aang, I don't know anything about the Avatar, or what he's supposed to do, besides keep balance in the world. But I think what it all comes down to, is what's in here." I pointed to his heart. "That's all that matters. Do what you think is best for both yourself and the world."

~~Water~~

Zuko pushed back bamboo reeds in annoyance. He had searched his whole ship from top to bottom, and there was no sign of his uncle anywhere. "Uncle! It's time to leave! Where are you? Uncle Iroh!"

He found his uncle's robes hanging on a tree branch, and pushed passed it, revealing his uncle sitting in the center of a natural hot spring with steam coming off the surface.

"Over here." Iroh said.

"Uncle? We need to move on, we're closing in on the Avatar's trail and I don't want to lose him!"

"You look tired, Prince Zuko." Iroh commented. "Why don't you join me in these hot springs and soak away your troubles."

Zuko mentally rolled his eyes. "My troubles cannot be soaked away." _You should know that. _"It's time to go!"

Iroh, it seemed, would not be swayed so easily. "You should take your teacher's advice and relax a little. The temperature's just right. I heated it myself." Iroh sat up, put his hands together, and breathed steam out of his nose. The steam rose from the water, getting in Zuko's face.

"Enough! We need to leave now! Get out of the water!"

"Very well." Iroh got to his feet, and Zuko immediately realized his mistake and put his hand up to block the view of his uncle.

"On second thought, why don't you take another few minutes? But be back at the ship in half an hour or I'm leaving without you." And Zuko stormed off without another word.

Iroh sat back down in the hot spring. He knew full well his nephew would not leave without him, and he would stretch his half an hour for as long as he could.

~~Water~~

"Hey, Aang, ready to be cheered up?" Katara asked, coming over to the depressed Avatar. She had wandered off for a while, and now she had returned.

"No." Aang said, still sounding depressed. An acorn suddenly flew from Katara's hands and hit Aang in the side of his head. "OW! Hey, how was that cheering me up?"

Sokka sniggered. "Cheered me up." I rolled my eyes, plucked an acorn from the ground, and threw it at the idiot as hard as I could. It hit his forehead, and he rubbed it in pain. "Yeah, I know, not helping."

"No, it is not." I agreed with him.

Katara smiled at us, and then turned back to Aang. She knelt down beside him. "These acorns are everywhere, Aang. That means the forest will grow back. Every one of these will be a tall oak tree someday, and all the birds and animals will come back!" She placed an acorn in Aang's hands, and then closed his fist over it.

Aang stared at it for a moment, before he smiled at the waterbender. "Thanks Katara."

We all suddenly heard a noise, and turned out heads in that direction. Coming toward us was an old man wearing green and walking with a cane in his hands. He walked up directly to Aang.

"Hey, who are you?" Sokka asked, not trusting this man yet.

"When I saw the flying bison, I thought it was impossible! But those markings..." He gestured to the arrows on Aang's head. "Are you the Avatar, child?"

Aang looked over at Katara for approval to confirm the man's question. When she nodded, Aang turned back to the guy and nodded his head.

"My village desperately needs your help!"

"What do you mean?" I asked, coming forward. The old man saw me, and his eyes widened.

"A firebender travelling with the Avatar?" He asked in amazement. He stared at me for such a long time, I felt a little uncomfortable. Then he said, "If the Avatar trusts you, then my village will as well."

I blinked in surprise. I was not expecting that.

"To answer your question, we must go to my village. There, I can explain everything." He started walking back in the direction he came from.

"Think we can trust him?" Sokka asked me.

I shrugged. "He doesn't look Fire Nation. He looks pretty trustworthy. And, hey, what's life without a few risks? If he is Fire Nation, then we should help him anyway. If he's leading us to a trap, we can just get out of there as soon as we can, right?"

~~Water~~

By the time we reached the old man's village, the sun was starting to set. And, let me tell you, the village was pretty bad looking. Houses were destroyed or burned down to a crisp. I immediately went to "Fire Nation" but then I realized that the firebenders wouldn't leave with only a few buildings destroyed. They would have burned down the whole village, or make it a colony. If it was a colony, then the Fire Nation symbol would be at least somewhere. But I didn't see it anywhere.

"Think it's the Fire Nation?" Sokka asked the others.

"No. The Fire Nation would destroy it completely, or make it a colony. If it was a colony, the symbol would be here. But I don't see it." I told them. The old man nodded along with what I was saying.

"The Fire Nation doesn't pay any attention to our little village. We don't have anything to offer them here. What attacked our village is much, much worse." He said.

"If you don't have anything here, then why did they burn down the forest?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I'm not sure."

_Okay, then._

The old man led us to a large building, probably their Town Hall. A large group of people were inside the building, and the old man introduced us to them. An important looking man came over. The old man told him Aang was the Avatar.

"So the rumors of your return are true." He bowed to us. "It is the greatest honor of a lifetime to be in your presence."

_Wow._ I thought in amusement. _This'll do wonders for Aang's ego._

Aang bowed as well. "Nice to meet you too. So, is there something I can help you with?"

The chief looked away with an unsure expression. "I'm not sure..."

The old man spoke up. "Our village is in crisis, he's our only hope." He turned back to us. "For the last few days at sunset a Spirit monster comes and attacks our village. He is Hei-Bai, the black and white Spirit." He said darkly.

"Why is it attacking you?" Sokka asked.

"We do not know, but each of the last three nights he has abducted one of our own. We are especially fearful because the winter solstice draws near." The chief said sadly, walking to the doorway.

"What happens then?" Katara asked curiously.

"Oh, I know." I said. They turned to me. "When there's a solstice, the natural world and the Spirit world grow closer and closer, until the line between them is almost non-existent."

The chief nodded. "That's right. And Hei-Bai is already causing devastation and destruction. Once the solstice is here there is no telling what will happen."

Aang still looked confused. "So, what do you want me to do exactly?"

The old man smiled. "Who better to resolve a crisis between our world and the Spirit world than the Avatar himself? You are the great bridge between man and Spirits."

"Right...that's me." Aang said, sounding unconfident and unsure. I frowned. This is not going to end well.

"Hey, 'great bridge guy', can I talk to you over here for a second?" Katara said, sounding concerned. We came over to a window, and I looked out and saw the sun slowly starting to disappear over the horizon.

"You seem a little unsure about all of this." Katara said worriedly.

"Yeah, that might be because I don't know anything at all about the Spirit world!" Aang said. We all stared at him in disbelief. "It's not like there's someone to teach me all this stuff!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation.

"Well, there should be." I decided, crossing my arms. "If you don't know anything about the Spirit world, how are you going to help these people?"

"I don't know... but I have to try, don't I? I mean, remember what you said, Tora?" He asked me. "You said what matters is I have to do what's best for both me and the world. And right now, trying even if I don't know anything is what's best for me and the world."

"You can do it, Aang." Katara said, beaming at him encouragingly.

"Yeah. We're all gonna get eaten by a Spirit monster." Sokka said, but he said it like Katara. I shoved him, and he slammed into the wall. The other two laughed.

I slung my arm over his shoulder. "You can do it Aang. You're a smart kid."

~~Water~~

Iroh jerked awake when he heard the bushes rustling. "Who's there?" He scanned the area, looking for the making of the noise. A meadow vole suddenly jumped onto the side of the hot spring. Iroh relaxed. "A meadow vole! I should have known. You startled me, little one." He leaned back against the rock. "Seems I've dozed off and missed my nephew's deadline, but it was a very sweet nap."

The ground suddenly began to shake, and three triangular rocks were pushed into the hot spring, trapping him. Earth Kingdom soldiers suddenly emerged from the trees and came toward him. A soldier picked up his clothing from the tree branch and announced he was a Fire Nation soldier.

"He's no ordinary soldier." The captain declared. "This is the Fire Lord's brother, the Dragon of the West, the once great General Iroh, but now, he's our prisoner."

**(Dun, dun, DUN!)**

~~Water~~

Aang was now walking through the streets of the village, his hand wrapped tightly around his staff, just in case.

I was shifting back and forth, rocking on my feet nervously. I was nervous for Aang. The kid didn't know anything about the Spirit world. I only knew some stuff from my father's books, but not anything that would actually help. I had already told Aang what I knew about the Spirit world.

_Bending doesn't work in the Spirit world. All the Avatar past lives live in the Spirit world. Not that many Spirits can live in the mortal world. There are specific places on earth for the Spirits to pass through into the mortal world, and Vis versa. _

That's kind of everything I know.

What are you looking at? What do you know about the Spirit world? You've ever been there? No? Then shut up!

"Hello? Spirit, can you hear me? This is the Avatar speaking. I'm... here to try to help stuff." Aang said awkwardly. I slapped my forehead_. Oh dear Spirits, we're all gonna die._

"This isn't right. We can't sit here and cower while Aang waits for some monster to show up." Sokka said in annoyance.

"If anyone can save us, he can." The old guy said.

"He still shouldn't have to face this alone!" Sokka exclaimed. I grabbed his arm and dragged him over to somewhere so we could talk.

"Sokka, I agree with you. But I don't think these villagers do. If we're going to help, we have to wait until we're positive Aang can't do it alone. Deal?" I held my hand out for him to shake. He stared at it for a moment, then he sighed and shook my hand.

"Deal." Then we heard Aang shouting outside and rushed over to the doorway so we could see what was going on.

"The sun has set. Where are you, Hei-Bai? Well, Spirit, uh, I hereby ask you to please leave this village in peace!" He twirled his staff dramatically, then planted it in the ground like a flag. I closed my eyes. It was almost too painful to watch.

"Okay. Well, I guess that's settled then." Aang said cheerfully. He started walking back over to us, when I saw something in the forest. It looked like a huge fox-dog, except it had a sort of rounded snout, had six arms (four regular ones, and two smaller ones in the front at his neck) and was covered with black and white markings. Oh, and he had really sharp teeth.

Needless to say, it was incredibly freaky looking.

On instinct, I grabbed the sword that was attached to my hip. I had started it keeping it by my side almost all the time, ever since Omashu and that Earth Kingdom prison.

Aang turned around and came face to face with the Spirit. "You must be Hei-Bai!" He exclaimed, bowing his head. "My name is-"

Aang was cut off when Hei-Bai opened his mouth and screeched very loudly, blue energy exploding from his mouth. Aang didn't move, but he dropped his staff. Then Hei-Bai shot past him into the village. Aang turned around, and continued speaking to the Spirit. "My name is Aang! I'm the Avatar, and I would like to help!"

I winced as Hei-Bai destroyed two more buildings with his blue energy. He continued destroying several buildings, while Aang ran after it, trying to get its attention.

"The Avatar's methods are..." The chief was cut off when we all had to duck from flying pieces of wood. "Unusual."

"It doesn't seem too interested in what he's saying." Sokka said, clenching his boomerang. "Maybe we should go help him?

"No, only the Avatar stands a chance against the Hei-Bai." The old guy said. I frowned. _Doesn't seem like much of a chance to me._

"Aang will figure out the right thing to do, Sokka." Katara agreed. My frown deepened. Not Katara too!

"Please, would you stop destroying things and listen?" Aang shouted.

Aang jumped onto a building, and saw Hai-Bai pounding a house into dust. "I'm just trying to do my job as Spirit Bridge. Excuse me, would you please turn around?" When the Spirit again did not turn around, Aang's face got all red and angry, and he shouted, "I command you to turn around now!"

Hei-Bai finally turned around, swatting Aang off the building and flying backward until he hit a roof. He slid down and collapsed on the ground. I winced. _That's gonna leave a mark._

"That's it! He needs help!" Sokka yelled, running out of the Town Hall. "C'mon, Tora!"

I sprinted after him, pulling out my sword. I heard Katara gasp behind me.

"Sokka, Tora, wait!" she screamed after us. I heard the old man say it wasn't safe for Katara to follow us.

I felt my heart stop when I saw the monster standing over Aang. "Don't touch him!" I yelled, holding my sword out and running over to the two of them. "Sokka, get closer and kneel down!"

Sokka obliged, sprinting forward and getting down on all fours. "Closer than that!" Sokka got back on his feet and ran forward until he was close enough. "Good! Now get down!"

Sokka got down on his knees again. I sprinted forward, holding my breath. _Please let this work._

As soon as I was close enough, I jumped into the air, hit Sokka's back with my foot, and used it as a springboard of sorts. I flew into the air again, and I aimed my sword point at Hei-Bai's back. I landed directly on his lower back, and tried to stab him. Keyword being _tried_. Hei-Bai's skin was rubbery and slick, so my sword slid right off him. But I was able to stay on, until Hei-Bai suddenly rolled over onto his back. I managed to jump off his back before he crushed me, and I tucked my knees into my chest, rolling across the ground. I lay on the ground, dazed, until I felt something cold and big grab me.

I screamed at the top of my lungs. Hei-Bai had captured me. "Let me go, you-"

"Hei-Bai! Over here!" Sokka yelled. He threw his boomerang, and all it did was hit Hei-Bai's butt and fall to the ground. I wish I could have face palmed myself, but my arms were trapped. Sokka ran toward Aang, who was still sitting on the ground.

"Sokka, go back!"

"We'll fight him together!" Sokka replied.

"I don't want to fight him unless-" Hei-Bai suddenly shot forward in a black and white blur and picked up Sokka. I screamed even louder when the Spirit shot out of the village and disappeared into the forest.

~~Water~~

Almost two hours after Zuko had specifically told his uncle he would leave without him in half an hour, Zuko stormed into the glade (after making sure it was safe from his naked uncle).

"Uncle! Uncle, where are you?" Zuko yelled. The hot spring was empty of both his uncle and of water.

"Sir, maybe he thought you left without him?" One soldier offered.

"Something's not right here." He inspected the sharp rocks pointing out of the base of the hot spring. "These rocks..."

"Looks like there's been a landslide." Another soldier said.

"Rocks don't slide uphill." Zuko narrowed his eyes, thinking. "These rocks didn't move naturally." His eyes widened as he realized what happened. "My uncle's been taken by earthbenders!"

~~Water~~

While Hei-Bai was speeding through the forest, Sokka had managed to get his arms free, Aang was chasing us on his glider, and I was screaming every curse word I knew. And I knew a lot.

"AANG, IF YOU DON'T SAVE US, I'LL COME BACK FROM THE SPIRIT WORLD AND KILL YOU MYSELF, FIRE NATION BE DAMNED!" I screamed at him. Aang winced, but I was too freaked out to feel guilty.

"HELP!" Sokka screamed. Aang stretched out his arm as far as he could, and Sokka did the same thing.

"Hold on!" Aang yelled. Hei-Bai seemed to speed up, and I closed my eyes as tightly as I could.

_Dear God, Spirits, or whoever's listening, if I'm gonna die, please let it be quick._

And everything went black.

**Ooooo, Drama! **

**What will happen in the Spirit world? Will Zuko find his uncle? Will Aang save Tora and Sokka? Will I ever stop asking questions?**

**You'll have to wait to find out, yes (duh) , yes (double duh), NO!**

**Remind you of anyone?**

**Bolin: I have a couple questions. Is this an all vegetarian island, is that where you train airbending, do we have to wear Air Acolyte clothes; do we each get our own sky bison, and final question, how many trees are on this island?**

**Ikki: Yes, yes, no, no, ten thousand five hundred and fifty two!**


	12. Tora's Adventure In the Spirit World

**Tora's adventure in the Spirit world.**

**Exactly what the title says.**

**Oh, and the other day I was fiddling around with the internet, and I noticed my story had 26 favs. 26 favs, and we're only on chapter 12! So thank you all so, so much.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything but Tora and her mother. And the idea for the story. But that's it.**

"Tora..."

"Nnngg."

"Tora."

"NNNGGG."

"TORA!"

I screamed and punched upwards. My fist was met with something hard. I sat up, shaking my fist in pain.

"Ow, jeez Tora! You punch hard!" Sokka exclaimed, rubbing his nose.

"Sorry, Sokka." I sighed, brushing hair out of my face. Then I noticed our surroundings.

We were sitting in the middle of a large grassy field covered in flowers of almost every color. There were mountains that stretched across the ground miles away from where we were. There was a large lake nearby, with small grassy islands floating in the middle of it. Clouds were floating along the ground. It was the most beautiful place I had ever seen.

"Where are we?" I asked, getting to my feet.

Sokka shrugged. "Spirit world?"

"Oh, that's very helpful Sokka. I meant _where_ in the Spirit world."

"How should I know?" Sokka demanded, still rubbing his nose. "I think you broke my nose!"

I sighed. "Men are such _babies_." I faced the mountains. "Well, wherever we are, it sure is beautiful."

I heard Sokka suddenly give a small screech behind me. I sighed again. "Oh, Sokka, don't cry because I punched you in the-" I turned around and saw the real reason Sokka screamed.

There were small little white lights floating all around him. Every time he tried to swat them away, they kept coming back. They stuck to him and wouldn't let go.

"Sokka!" I yelled, reaching for him. Right before I touched him, he disappeared in a flash of golden light.

I gasped at where he had disappeared. "Sokka! If this is some sort of joke, I'll kill you!" I yelled, spinning around in a circle. _Damn, I don't think it's a joke._

I heard something. I spun to face then noise. "Sokka, is that-" I came face to face (nose actually) with a large panda bear. I looked up, and saw that the bear was staring down at me. "Uh, hello?"

The panda snuffed softly, then nuzzled me. "Hey, what are you doing?" The panda breathed in my face, blowing my hair backwards. Then he got down on the ground. "What, you want me to get on?" The panda slowly nodded, and I swear it looked like it smiled at me. "Well, what do I have to lose?" I sighed, swinging one leg over its back. As soon as I was on, the panda got to his feet and raced off. I screamed and clenched his fur in my fists. _Wow, this is almost as bad as Hei-Bai._

Then I remembered what had happened to make us wind up here in the first place.

Oh, god, I hope Aang is okay. Katara must be worried sick!

"Think you could slow down, buddy?" I yelled over the wind.

The panda stopped so suddenly that I lost my grip on his fur and was sent flying over his head and onto the ground.

"Oh, dear, are you alright?"

I looked up from the grass and saw the person that had spoken.

Standing a few feet away from me was a young woman. She looked like she was in her late thirties or early forties. Her hair was long and messy and black, reached her waist, and had one single braid in the midst of the mess. She was wearing a long dark blue dress with long bell shaped sleeves that fell down almost to her knees. She had gold earrings in the shape of a circle, and imprinted on them were the two water tribe symbols: A crescent moon with three wavy lines, and the other one was a symbol similar to Katara's missing necklace.

Then I saw her eyes. They were gold, and her skin was pale. This woman was Fire Nation. But she seemed familiar.

"Yeah, I think." I got to my feet, brushing grass off my clothes, keeping my eyes on the woman. Just in case.

The woman suddenly gasped. "Oh, dear Spirits... I can't believe it..."

"What?" I demanded, reaching for my sword, except it wasn't there. Then I remembered I had dropped it when I attacked Hei-Bai.

"Tora?" She asked, her eyes shining with tears.

"Yes...?" I asked cautiously, wondering why this woman knew my name.

"You're beautiful! And you've grown so much!" She said, coming forward. I raised my fists in a firebending move. Then I remembered: bending doesn't work in the Spirit world.

"Stay back!" I ordered, keeping my fists up. If Sokka was anything to go by, I could punch pretty hard.

She stopped walking toward me. Her eyes filled with hurt, but I didn't feel guilty. "You don't recognize me, do you?"

"Why would I recognize you?" I demanded.

She smiled. "Well, for one thing, your father's house is full of portraits of me. And for another," Her eyes spotted my necklace. "You're wearing my necklace."

"No way!" I snapped, putting a hand against the necklace, shielding it from her view. "This necklace was my mother's!"

"Exactly." She smiled again. I narrowed my eyes. _Wait a minute..._

Then I remembered why she seemed so familiar. What she said was true. I had seen her face before... my father had painted it at least a thousand times... the portraits all over the house (or at least, they were, I didn't know if Dad had kept them up after I left)... always the same face... a young woman, smiling, a heart shaped face, long black hair either tied back or loose, sharp golden eyes, and she was always wearing my necklace.

"Mom?" I finally gasped. My eyes filled with tears when she nodded. We both stood silently for a minuted, tears in both our eyes.

"MOM!" I screamed, sprinting to her and flinging my arms around her waist. She burst out laughing when we both fell to the ground.

We both lay on the ground, laughing and crying at the same time.

"Mom, I can't believe it!" I exclaimed. We both suddenly felt hot breath blowing our hair, and I looked up to see the panda that had brought me here.

Mom laughed. "Well, hello, Hei-Bai!"

"Wait, what?" I asked, sitting up. Mom sat up as well. "That panda is the Spirit monster that's been attacking that town?"

Mom frowned. "Hei-Bei, really?" The panda looked down, almost looking ashamed. "Oh, honestly. You should have the sense to know it was the Fire Nation that burned down your forest, not the village." Hei-Bai gave a whining noise, then nuzzled me with his nose. Mom allowed herself to smile. "Well, you brought my daughter here, so I can't be too mad at you."

Hei-Bai whined again, breathing on my hair. I sighed, and patted his nose. "Alright, I forgive you."

"So, you came here with a boy?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, Sokka."

"Water Tribe name, isn't it?"

"Well, he is Water Tribe."

"Hmmm. Interesting." Her eyes sparkled. "And, this Sokka... is he anyone special?"

I gasped, mortified. "MOM!"

"Relax! I'm kidding!" she laughed, holding up her hands.

"That was so not cool!" I exclaimed, but I was smiling at the same time. This was what I always dreamed of. "Where is Sokka, anyway?" I asked myself. I was surprised when my mother answered.

"He's with his own mother. And, unfortunately," Her face became sad. "Neither of you will remember this experience."

"What?" I gasped. "But... that's not fair! Why won't we remember?"

"I don't make the rules, dear." She said sadly, brushing a hair out of my face.

"The Spirit world has rules?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

She nodded.

"It's still not fair..." I said. I started feeling tears prickling in my eyes. I brushed them away furiously, but they kept coming. Finally I gave in and let them fall. I started sobbing uncontrollably, and mom hugged me tightly.

"Oh, my little Painted Lady..." She murmured, brushing my hair back. That just made me sob harder. I wouldn't remember any of this. None of this. I hadn't seen my mother since I was five, and now that I had, I wouldn't remember anything? _It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair!_

While I cried and held onto my mother, I tried to hold on to the memories while I had them, thinking that maybe if I remembered them well enough, I would remember, Spirit rules be damned.

While I cried, mom began to sing softly in my ear.

_So many years have passed_

_The dew is still on the roses_

_I left my childhood_

_In a garden green_

_Come in the garden and look at the trees_

_I used to play there when I was a child_

_Fox-squirrels and birds, little fairies_

_Settled down there long ago_

_So many years have passed_

_The dew is still on the roses_

_I left my childhood_

_In a garden green_

_Come in the garden and sit on the grass_

_I used to sit there when I was a child_

_Ivy and moss, little daisies_

_Covered the lane long ago_

_So many years have passed_

_The dew is still on the roses_

_I kept my memories_

_In that garden green_

_I kept my memories_

_In that garden green_

**That song is "The Neglected Garden" from Studio Ghibli's "Secret World Of Arrietty". If you haven't seen that yet, I highly recommend you should. Or you could just listen to the song.**

"Mom, Dad sent me away!"

"He did what?" She asked, her eyes widening.

"The White Lotus told him I had to be sent away. He could have fought them, but he didn't!" I wailed. "How could he? I'm his daughter!"

"Oh, sweetie..." Mom sighed. "I don't know why he did that. But he loves you."

"No he doesn't!" I yelled, my tears stopping suddenly. I pushed mom away and stood up. "He doesn't! If he loved me, why would he do that? Why would he let those _guys_ boss him around?"

"If he didn't love you, why would he keep you for eight years, when he could have just left you to be adopted? Or he could have sent you away earlier." Mom countered. "If he doesn't love you, then why does he think about you every second, why does he come to the glade every week, why does he paint us _every day_?"

"He does what?" I asked in confusion. I had not been expecting that.

"He paints both of us every day. He's done so ever since two years ago. And he comes to the glade every week, and just sits under the tree, and he just stares at everything." Mom said, putting a hand on my cheek. "If he didn't love you, then why did he tell you he does right before you left? He loves you Tora. You know that."

"He has a funny way of showing it." I muttered, sitting down again.

"Yes, I agree he does." Mom laughed, sitting down beside me. Despite my frustration, I smiled.

And we spent the rest of my time in the Spirit world just talking. She asked me about my friends, about what I liked, about what I didn't like, things like that. I asked her about her life before my dad (she didn't really talk about that much), about what _she_ liked, about _her_ friends. When I told her about how Fire Lady Ursa disappeared, she looked really upset.

Unfortunately, good things like that don't last forever. Sokka and a woman dressed in blue that looked a lot like Katara appeared, and Sokka was smiling in a way that I hadn't ever seen before.

"Tora!" He exclaimed, rushing forward and grabbing my arm. "You're okay!"

"Yeah, I am." I smiled. I glanced at the woman. "Who's..."

"This is my mom. My MOM!" Sokka shouted. He was practically bouncing in place. I felt horrible. He was this excited about seeing his mom, but he wouldn't remember. Of course, the same could be said for me.

"This is my mom." I introduced Sokka to my mother. She smiled.

"Akemi." She said, shaking hands with Sokka. I was surprised. I knew my mother had a name, but I never knew what it was.

"I'm Kya." Sokka and Katara's mom said, coming forward and smiling at me.

"It's nice to meet you." I said. "Katara talks about you alot." I glanced at Sokka, then back to Kya. "Katara... um, she lost her necklace. Do you know if she'll find it?"

Kya laughed. "Yes, she will."

"Good! She doesn't look right without it."

Mom and Kya stood next to each other. A bamboo patch suddenly grew in front of me and Sokka. I panicked. This was the way out of the Spirit world. I knew it. I knew I had to leave. But I didn't want too. I didn't want to forget.

"Don't worry." Kya said, seeing our worried faces.

"You'll be fine." Mom said.

I gave my mom one last hug, Sokka did the same. Then we exchanged looks, and walked into the bamboo.

~~Water~~

Sokka and I emerged from the bamboo and walked into the village. I saw Katara rush over to us and hug us both. "Sokka! Tora!"

"What happened?" Sokka asked, rubbing his head. I groaned. I had a major headache.

"You two were stuck in the Spirit world for twenty four hours! How are you feeling?"

"Like I really need to use the bathroom!" Sokka yelled, running over to a house. I laughed, then winced as I held my head.

"What's wrong?" Katara asked, looking concerned.

"Nothing. Just a headache." I groaned again.

"What was the Spirit world like?" Katara asked curiously.

"Yeah! What was it like?" Aang said, coming over. I smiled and hugged him. When I let go, I slung my arm around their shoulders.

"To be honest, I don't remember." I said, frowning. I knew something had happened in the Spirit world... I just couldn't remember.

~~Water~~

Later on, the chief wanted to thank us. Mostly Aang.

"Thank you, Avatar. If there only were a way to repay you for what you've done." The chief bowed.

Sokka spoke up, of course. "You could give us some supplies! And some money!"

I punched him in the arm while Katara elbowed him. "Sokka!"

"What? We need stuff."

The chief bowed again. "It would be an honor to help you prepare for your journey." He left, presumably to get us our stuff.

Katara turned to Aang. "I'm so proud of you, Aang. You figured out what to do all on your own." We all smiled at him.

"Actually, I did have a little help." Aang admitted, looking down. "And there's something else."

"What is it?" I asked, looking at him.

"I need to talk to Roku and I think I've found a way to contact his spirit." Aang said.

"That's incredibly creepy, but fantastic!" I said, beaming.

"There's a temple on a crescent shaped island, and if I go there on the solstice I'll be able to speak with him."

"Wait." I frowned. "I know that island. I've heard of it."

"Yes. It's in the Fire Nation."

**Finally, the chapter is over!**

**Awww, poor Tora! She finally meets her mom, and she doesn't remember! Poor Sokka too!**

**(Crying in corner.)**


	13. Iroh Has Lost a Lotus Tile

**Iroh Has Lost a Lotus Tile**

**Hey, y'all! It's the Waterbending Scroll! Yay! **

**And next is Jet! YAY!**

**Sorry, but I didn't want to do the winter solstice part 2. That, and I didn't think it would really matter if I didn't, because I could just explain what happened anyway. So if you want to know what happened, I'll explain it to you at the beginning of next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything but Tora. And her mom. And the plot for the story. But that's it.**

"What's up with you Aang?" I asked, watching the Avatar pace back and forth on Appa's saddle. It was two days after we went to Roku's temple. While we were there, we met a nice guy named Shyu, Aang nearly got captured by Zuko, we met a complete jerk named Zhao who looks like a monkey, and Aang found out he had to master all four elements by summer's end or else Fire Lord Ozai would use the power of Sozin's Comet to destroy the world. Except the Fire Nation of course. No pressure or anything! My personal favourite part of the trip was when Zhao commented that I'd make a good present for the Fire Lord because of my double bending, and I had spit in his face. That was fun.

Oh, and Momo got a new hat!

"Yeah, will you sit down already? If we hit a bump you'll go flying off." Sokka said from where he was sitting. Since Aang wouldn't calm down, Sokka took charge and started leading Appa. "What's bugging you anyway?"

"It's what Avatar Roku said! I'm supposed to master all four elements before the comet arrives!" Aang said, clearly stressing out.

"Well, you've already mastered airbending, and that took you, what? A hundred years, give or take?" I asked, smiling. Sokka snickered. "Mastering the others will be easy!"

"I haven't even started waterbending, and we're still weeks away from the North Pole! _What am I gonna do_?" I watched in amusement as Aang freaked out even more. Katara grabbed his arm.

"Aang, calm down. It's going to be okay. If you want, I can teach you some of the stuff I know." Katara offered.

"Same goes for me." I said, raising a hand in the air. To be honest, I don't think Aang heard me. He was too busy making googly eyes at Katara.

"Really?" He asked Katara. She nodded and peered over the side.

"We need to find a good source of water first." Katara said, looking for one.

"Maybe we can find a puddle for you to splash around in." Sokka said teasingly. I flicked fire at him, and it hit his hair.

~~Water~~

A few minutes later we were all standing in front of waterfall that fell into a large lake-like river. Katara and Aang were gaping in amazement, while Sokka was pouting because I had burned a millimetre of his hair off. Baby. I was standing next to him, my arms crossed behind my back, smiling proudly.

"Nice puddle." I commented. Appa suddenly flew into the air, spread his legs, and dropped like a stone. As soon as he hit the water, a large tidal wave exploded from underneath him and soaked Momo, who was sunbathing on a rock.

"Don't start without me boy!" Aang yelled, running forward and peeling off his shirt and his pants.

"Remember why we're here." Katara said, sounding a little annoyed. She sounded like a mother.

"Oh, right. Time to practice waterbending." Aang pulled his clothes back on.

I did the opposite. I pulled off my tunic and my white shirt to reveal the many bandages that wrapped around my chest and my stomach. Then I pulled off my pants and boots and revealed my black short shorts. "While you're doing that, I am going to be practicing as well." I said, pulling off my necklace and tucking it into my bag for safe keeping. Then I headed toward the cliff side. I started climbing the cliff. Thankfully, there were several ridges pointing out, so I could climb it and put my feet somewhere.

"What are you doing?" Katara yelled at me.

"I'm going to try something!" I yelled back. As soon as I reached the top, I took a few steps back. Then I ran forward and jumped over the side. "WATERBENDING BOMB!" I yelled, tucking my knees into my chest.

"TORA!" Katara screamed. I ignored her, and as soon as I hit the water, spread my arms and created a huge wave that went past the river banks and into the forest, soaking the ground and trees.

I poked my head out of the water, smiling innocently as Katara and Sokka both glared at me.

"I WANNA TRY!" Aang yelled, already charging toward the cliff side. Katara glared at me again, and grabbed the back of Aang's collar and dragging him back to their practice space. Aang glanced sadly at me, and I mouthed the words, "Later" at him, which made him smile.

~~Water~~

Zuko punched fireball after fireball at his sparring opponent. He was currently winning, until the ship tilted to the right, and he and his opponent were knocked to the side of the ship.

"Someone's changing our course!"

He left the upper deck and charged right into the command room, finding the helmsmen still at the wheel, but facing in a different direction."What's the meaning of this mutiny? No one told you to change course!" He yelled at the helmsmen.

His uncle intruded on Zuko's rage. He was sitting a few feet away from them, playing Pai-Sho (and currently winning.). "Actually, someone did. I assure you it is a matter of utmost importance, Prince Zuko."

"Is it something to do with the Avatar?" Zuko asked.

Iroh's face darkened. "Even more urgent. It seems... I've lost my lotus tile." He now looked depressed, and he moved a piece forward on the board.

Zuko stared at him for a moment. "Lotus tile?"

"For my Pai Sho game." Iroh explained. "Most people think the lotus tile insignificant, but it is essential for the unusual strategy that I employ."

Zuko's expression changed from confused to enraged. "You've changed our course for a stupid lotus tile?"

Iroh jabbed a finger at him. "See, you, like most people, underestimate its value. Just give me ten minutes to check the merchants at this port of call. Hopefully they'll have the lotus tile in stock and I can get on with my life!"

Zuko, after trying to contain his anger, let out a flame from his mouth that spread over the ceiling.

"I'm lucky to have such an _understanding_ nephew!"

~~Water~~

Katara and Aang were still working on waterbending moves, and I was trying the move I like to call, "walking on water". It's where you have to turn the water into ice and walk around. Sokka was standing on Appa's stomach, using a leafy branch to clean out the area between the bison's toes. Appa gave a happy groan. "Yeah, yeah, you have to do me next."

I ice walked over to him. "Having fun?" I asked, smiling.

"Shut up." He grumbled.

I skated away, and watched Aang and Katara waterbending. Aang seemed to be doing everything perfectly and mastering it really fast, and Katara seemed to be getting really mad.

"I know this one other move, but it's pretty hard. I haven't figured it out yet." Katara looked like she was hoping Aang wouldn't get it. I raised an eyebrow. "The idea is to create a big powerful wave..." She raised her hands, and a blob of water lifted out of the water. Sweat started to bead at Katara's forehead, before she finally let it go and it fell back into the water.

Aang stepped up to try. "So, like this?" Aang raised his hands, and a huge wall of water burst from the river. My eyes widened as the wave started getting bigger until it was like a tidal wave. Then I realized it was coming toward both me and Sokka.

"AANG! DON'T-"

I was cut off when the tidal wave fell around Sokka, Appa and me. Sokka fell off Appa's stomach and into the water, Appa wasn't affected at all, and I was knocked off my ice skates and into the water. I melted the ice and swam back to the surface, glaring at the airbender.

"Looks like I got the hang of that move!" Aang said cheerfully. "What else can you show me?"

"That's enough practice for today." Katara said, sounding annoyed.

"I'll say!" Sokka yelled in annoyance. "You practiced our supplies down the river!"

"Sorry... but there's probably somewhere to replace all that stuff." Aang said optimistically.

"I had it hard enough when you were just an airbender." Sokka muttered, sinking back under the waves.

I narrowed my eyes at Aang. "I am _so not _teaching you the waterbending bomb." I said in a dead serious voice.

**And part one of the waterbending scroll is over.**

**And for those of you who were wondering if Tora will teach Aang some waterbending, she will. But after Katara gives Aang the waterbending scroll.**

**Sorry for the shortness.**


	14. Tora Hates Pirates

**Tora Hates Pirates**

**Sorry for the wait. I'm really getting into my other fanfic, so I haven't written anything for Blue lately.**

**Disclaimer: Does anyone even read this anymore?**

The village we found was... rough, to say the least. I had to constantly keep a hand on my sword hilt to let the violent looking men know that if we were provoked, I would give them several new scars. And not all of them would be in places you'd want them to be.

"Okay, we've got three copper coins left from the money King Bumi gave us." Sokka said, coming out of a store that sold fruits and vegetables. "Let's spend it wisely."

"Better make that two copper coins, Sokka." Aang said, smiling innocently. "I couldn't say no to this whistle!" He produced a white whistle from behind his back. It was shaped a lot like Appa, which I found odd. He blew into it, and I raised an eyebrow when there was only a high pitched noise. Momo's fur stood up, and he hissed violently.

"You're not allowed to hold the money anymore." I grumbled, snatching the bag of money away from him.

"Yeah, you wasted one coin on some stupid whistle that doesn't even work!" Sokka said in annoyance. "Even Momo agrees with me."

We were both pretty annoyed from the wave incident earlier.

~~Water~~

We walked along the dock, pretty much ignoring all of the vendors that were calling out to us. At least, until one guy with weird lips, greasy looking long hair, and earrings called after us. "Earth Nation! Fire Nation! Water Nation! So long as bargains are your inclination, you're welcome here! Don't be shy, come on buy!"

I let out a groan when he ran over to us. "I can tell from your clothing that you're world travelling types. Perhaps I can interest you in exotic curios?"

"Sure!" Aang said cheerfully, then confused. "What's a 'curio'?"

The man paused for a moment. "I'm not sure, but we got 'em!"

I groaned again. _We don't have time for this._

"Come on, guys! It'll be fun!" Aang called, already walking toward the ship.

"Might as well." Katara shrugged, following him.

"They might have a boomerang collection." Sokka said thoughtfully, then followed. I sighed, then ran after them.

Inside the ship were several weird objects. Aang was looking at a variety of knick-knacks, Katara was practically being hypnotized by a creepy monkey with ruby eyes and necklace, Sokka was inspecting some weird looking weapons. I, on the other hand, was not looking at anything. I was standing in the middle of the room, just glancing around at everything. There was something about this ship that set me on edge. I don't know what it was, but I didn't like it. Trying to ignore it, I walked over to Sokka.

"Do you even know how to use that?" I asked him when he picked up a bola.

"No."

"Then what's the point at looking at it?"

"Ever heard of 'practice makes perfect'?"

Then he tried to throw it, before one end of the bola caught his ankle, and he tripped right on his face. I shook my head and laughed, before a male's voice intruded.

"That's a good sword. Very well crafted. I could give you a good price for it, if you're interested in a trade?" I turned around and saw an old guy, dressed in purple with a large feathered pirate hat, and a green reptile bird on his shoulder. He was staring at the sword at my waist with a hungry look in his eye.

"It's not for sale." I said coldly, placing a hand over the scabbard.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely."

He smirked, before turning to Aang and eyeing Momo. "I've never seen such a specimen of lemur. The beast would fetch me a hefty sum-"

"Momo's not for sale either." I interrupted, walking over to the Avatar and shielding him from the man. We had an intense staredown, before Katara called Aang over.

"Look Aang! It's a waterbending scroll!" I made this an excuse to break the staredown and follow Aang as he walked over to Katara. Peering over their shoulders, I saw that it was, indeed, a waterbending scroll. It was painted with a bunch of fancy looking moves, along with characters on the sides. It said "First form, second form, third form" and so on.

"Check out all these crazy moves!" Katara exclaimed, her eyes shining.

"Nice find!" I commented, grinning at it.

"Where'd you get a waterbending scroll?" Aang asked the man with the hat.

He snatched it from Katara's hand and rolled it up, smirking. "Let's just say I got it up North for a very reasonable price... free!" He put the scroll back in the rack, and I saw Katara staring at it desperately.

"Wait a minute... sea loving traders... with suspiciously acquired merchandise... and pet reptile birds! _You guys are pirates_!" Sokka yelled, pointing accusingly at the weird lips guy. Only, he did it like he had accused the guys of some huge crime, like he was at a trial. It was kind of ridiculous.

The weird lips guy put an arm around Sokka's shoulders. "We prefer to think of ourselves as high-risk traders." He corrected.

I rolled my eyes. When Katara asked how much the 'traded' scroll was, the Pirate guy said the price was two-hundred gold coins. Then Aang started 'haggling', if that's what it could be called, because he was offering _two copper coins_ in exchange for a scroll that was _two hundred gold coins._

I turned around, ready to leave, when I caught Katara red-handed.

She was stuffing the waterbending scroll into her sleeve, glancing around while she did it. _Katara is _not_ a good thief._

When she saw me staring at her, her eye's widened in panic. We stared at each other for a moment or two, before I walked toward the door, whispering in her ear quickly as I passed by her. "_Be quick." _Out loud, I said, "I'll wait back at the campsite for you guys, alright?"

"Hey, girl, come back if you decide to trade in that sword of yours!" That annoying weird lipped guy yelled at me as I left.

"Not likely!" I yelled back.

I was only a few metres away from the ship, and my uneasy feeling was starting to fade when I heard the sound of yelling. I spun around, and saw the others sprinting away from a bunch of pirates, all of whom had exotic looking weapons.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" I yelled, starting to run as well. "WHAT DID AANG BREAK?"

"HEY!" Aang yelled defensively.

As we ran, I heard them yelling at us to "get back there"- which we obviously ignored. We turned down an alley, and when I glanced over my shoulder, I saw that there were less pirates than before. As we turned a corner, Katara waterbended some water from a stall nearby onto the ground and froze it, making an ice sheet. Some of the pirates slipped and stopped following us, while most of them kept in pursuit. We passed a cabbage cart (and, I swear, it was the same guy from Omashu) which Aang sent flying with airbending. As we ran off, I heard the guy yell, "MY CABBAGES! This place is worse than Omashu!"

Huh. So it was the guy from Omashu.

"SORRY!" I yelled at him, but kept running. The cabbage cart had taken out a lot of the pirates, but there were still some very persistent ones that followed. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" I screamed at the pirates.

We turned down another alley, only to find the rest of the pirates blocking our path. "I hope that lemur of yours has nine lives, boy!" The pirate captain yelled.

We spun around quickly and ran down the other way, only to find it was a dead end. _Damn._

"Who wants to taste my blades first?" The weird lips guy asked, wielding the double swords.

"No thank you!" I said sweetly, before I firebended a tunnel of sorts at them, then leapt toward them over the fire, fists covered with the element. While they backed away, I firebended blasts at them. As they kept backing up, I yelled, "Come on, go! While they're distracted!"

He nodded, before opening his glider. As he started running forward, gathering momentum, the Water Tribe siblings ran after him. When Aang passed me, I started running as soon as I was next to Katara and Sokka. When Aang jumped, Katara and Sokka jumped as well, but I kept running.

"Tora, get on! What are you waiting for?" Sokka yelled at me.

"Just keep going! Try and get higher!" I yelled back. "Aang, airbend into the wings, or whatever you call them!"

Aang nodded again, and sucked in a breath, before letting out a huge gust of air down at the ground, sending them into the sky. I kept running across the ground toward the pirates. The weird lips guy, after he organized himself, readied a sword. As I neared him, he held it like he was going to swing it. When I was right in front of him, he swung it at my legs.

I jumped, high into the sky, to avoid it. Then when I came back down, I grinned evilly at him with narrowed eyes. As I plummeted down, they all stared up at me, and I used this to my advantage when the weird lips guy looked up as well. I landed directly on his face, and used it as a platform, and jumped into the sky again, this time grabbing Aang's glider.

As soon as I grabbed onto the glider, I became a victim to Katara and Sokka's stares.

"What?"

~~Water~~

"You know, I used to look up to pirates." Aang commented back at the campsite. "But those guys were jerks!"

"I'll say. They tried to steal Momo!" I said, stroking the Lemur fondly. He purred, curling up in my lap.

"They didn't try to steal him." Sokka said.

"And they tried to take my sword!"

"I know." Katara said, producing the waterbending scroll from her sleeve. "That's why I stole this."

"No way!" Aang said, staring at the scroll. He looked surprisingly upset. _Huh. Guess Aang doesn't think everything Katara does is "amazing". _Yeah, I can see the way he watches her cook, sew, or even just the way she brushes Appa.

"Isn't it great?" Katara exclaimed, obviously not noticing Aang's discomfort.

"No wonder they were trying to hack us up!" Sokka said angrily. "You took their waterbending scroll!"

"I prefer the term 'high risk trading'." Katara corrected.

"Nice one." Aang said, his grin returning. _Spoke too soon._

"Sokka, where do you think they got it?" Katara asked her brother. "They stole it from a waterbender!"

"It doesn't matter! You put all of our lives at risk just so you could learn some fancy splashes!" Sokka said angrily, looking even madder than a few seconds before.

"These are real waterbending techniques!" Katara shot back, getting angry as well. "You know how crucial it is for Aang to learn waterbending! Tora, you're with me on this, right?" She promptly turned towards me. I sat up, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't make her even madder.

"No, Tora is on my side! She thinks you should have just left the scroll on the ship!" Sokka yelled back.

"Tora thinks that it's crucial for Aang to learn waterbending, and she understands that we need to start teaching him as fast as possible!"

"Tora thinks that it was a stupid gamble, and you shouldn't have made it!"

"TORA THINKS-"

"Tora thinks she can speak for herself!" I interrupted, making them look at me. I stared directly at them. "Katara, you shouldn't have stolen the scroll."

"HA!" Sokka said triumphantly, pointing at Katara.

"BUT," I continued, and Sokka's hand dropped back to his side. "You could have at least told us what you were doing. We're supposed to be a team, right? What kind of team keeps secrets from each other, especially ones that could endanger our lives?" I looked directly at her. "We can't change it, we might as well learn from it. But in the future, tell us when you're going to do something like that, alright?" I smiled to let her know I wasn't mad at her.

She smiled back and nodded. "Okay." She turned back to Aang. "Let's waterbend!"

~~Water~~

Zuko stood in the street, his arms crossed over his chest, a scowl on his face. He was waiting for Iroh to come back from his hunt for his Lotus Tile. _I hate that lotus tile so much right now._

He was so busy stewing angrily in his thoughts he didn't notice his uncle come up to him until he spoke. "I've checked all the stalls on this dock. Not a Lotus tile in the entire marketplace."

"It's good to know this whole trip has been a waste of time for _everybody_!" Zuko almost yelled in frustration.

"Actually, I always say the only thing better than finding something you lost," Iroh began, and Zuko saw the crew members walking back to the ship, all of them carrying some sort of merchandise. Zuko considered it junk. "Is finding something you weren't looking for at a great bargain!"

Zuko saw one of the crew members carrying a brass instrument. "You bought a Tsungi horn?"

"For music night on the ship!" Iroh explained. He started wandering off somewhere, with Zuko following after a moment. "Now, if only we had some woodwinds..."

A second later, Iroh had discovered a ship with a sign on the front that said, _**Earth Nation! Fire Nation! Water Nation! So long as bargains are your inclination, you're welcome here! Don't be shy, come on buy!**_

_Oh no._ Zuko thought in a panic when he saw his uncle's face light up when he saw the ship.

Sure enough, Iroh suddenly yelled, "This place looks promising!" and ran over to the ship like an excited little kid... that wasn't so little anymore.

Zuko raised an eyebrow when he saw his uncle smile when they were faced with a monkey statue with ruby eyes and ruby necklace. If he was being honest, it was a little disturbing.

"Oh, that is handsome!" Iroh exclaimed, picking it up and inspecting it.

Right as Zuko was about to walk out, he heard one of the staff members say, "We lost the Water Tribe girl, and the little bald monk she was travelling with. And that damn girl with the sword nearly broke my nose!"

As if he hadn't heard the last part, he walked over to the men. "The monk, did he have an arrow on his head?"

Behind him, Iroh imitated the monkey's face almost perfectly, and made the sound a monkey would make.

~~Water~~

I rested my head against Appa's head, relaxing after our little "adventure" with the pirates earlier. Katara and Aang were practicing with the scroll, though, to be honest, it looked like Katara was hogging it completely. Sokka was sharpening his boomerang.

Katara was promising Aang she just wanted to try one move, and then it would be his. Only, it seemed that "one move" was almost all of the moves on that scroll.

"The single water whip... Look's doable." Katara commented, already getting in position. I opened my eyes and watched Katara concentrate.

_She's too overconfident, but at the same time, she's too self conscious._ I mused silently. _Almost like Zuko. He's __**way **__overconfident - damn it, stop that! _That's been happening alot lately. I'm thinking something, and then Prince Emo comes into my mind.

I nearly laughed when Katara attempted the whip, but instead smacked herself in the forehead. I'm sorry, but it was funny. Good thing I caught myself in time.

Sokka didn't catch himself. And he didn't seem to care either.

"What's so funny?" Katara demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"I'm sorry, but you deserve that." He said simply, placing boomerang back into its "scabbard" tied to his belt. "You've been duped." He said to Aang. "She's only interested in teaching herself."

_I have to admit, it does look like that's the case._

"Aang will get his turn once I figure out the water whip!"

_But it seems Katara is denying it. _

She tried it again, but ended up messing up and hitting Momo by accident. "Momo!" I yelled, and the lemur jumped into my arms. I stroked his fur, comforting him.

"WHY CAN'T I GET THIS STUPID MOVE?!" Katara yelled in frustration.

"You'll get it." Aang said calmly, but at the same time sounding sort of confident.

_Ooohhh, this is interesting._

"You just gotta shift your weight through the stances." Aang explained, doing the whip perfectly, of course. "See, the key to bending is-"

"Will you PLEASE shut your air hole!" Katara interrupted. My eyes widened. _Oh, no. _"Believe it or not, your infinite wisdom gets a little old sometimes. Why don't we just throw the scroll away since you're so naturally gifted!"

_Woah. I thought she would just get frustrated and end up stealing the scroll in the middle of the night to practice or something. This is bad._

The waterbender turned to me and Sokka to see us staring at her. Sokka looked unimpressed; I looked both shocked and angry. "What?" She demanded.

"Katara." I whispered, pointing behind her. When she turned around, she saw Aang staring at her with a fearful expression, and teary eyes. Her expression changed from angry to horrified almost instantly.

"Oh my gosh Aang. I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. But you know what?" She rolled up the waterbending scroll and handed it over to him. "Here, it's yours. I don't want anything to do with it anymore."

"It's okay, Katara." Aang said. And it sounded like he meant it, though his face was still a little upset.

"What about Momo?" I asked, holding out the animal. "He's the real victim here! You whipped him!"

"I'm sorry Momo." She apologized, scratching his ears.

"What about me?" Sokka asked, clearly taking advantage of the situation. "There was that time when you-"

"_No more apologies!_"

Ignoring the rest of their conversation, I walked over to Aang, who still looked a little upset. "Hey, Aang."

"Hey Tora." Aang said, still sounding a little sad.

"Katara didn't mean what she said."

"I know." He sighed. "But it sounded like she did."

I rolled my eyes and watched Katara arguing with her brother. "If I know anything about that girl, it's that she's too overconfident, but at the same time gets frustrated easily when she doesn't do something right the first time. And I know you don't mean to, but you doing the waterbending moves right the first time - when she's been struggling for her whole life - doesn't really help her confidence a whole lot."

"What?" Aang said, looking almost horrified. "I made her feel bad?"

"Kind of." I shrugged. "But when you were doing the water whip, you made it sound like you were some master of waterbending, and I guess it just sent her over the edge."

"Oh my gosh!" Aang gasped.

"You've mastered waterbending at least a thousand times before. But Katara doesn't take that into account. Right now, you're just an amateur but can do everything faster - not to mention better - than her."

Aang still looked pretty upset. "You know, I think the reason you're mastering it so fast is because you're not overconfident, but you're not self-conscious either. When you're a beginner, you want to be those things, otherwise the element won't listen to you, and it won't do what you tell it to." I lit a small fire in my hand. "It's like firebending. You need to understand your element can hurt people, even if you don't mean too."

"Water can't hurt people." Aang looked confused.

I nearly laughed. "Oh no? Then what do you call all the waterbending moves Katara and I do to hurt people when we're running away? Helping people? No, it's hurting people. All elements can hurt people; they're all dangerous in their own way. Firebending is obvious. Earthbending is obvious as well. Waterbending - waterbending hurts people as well. And airbending-"

"No!" I stopped my lecture and looked at Aang. "Airbending doesn't hurt people! It's the most peaceful element of all! The element of freedom!" He looked really upset now.

"And I'm agreeing with you. It's a peaceful element. But put it in the wrong hands... an airbender could be able to suck all the air out of your lungs until you asphyxiated. I'm sure there are other ways, but I can only think of one at the moment."

"What does asphy- asfy- what you said. What does it mean?"

"It's a fancy word for suffocate. An airbender could suffocate you without even thinking about it." I looked directly at him. "Aang, I'm not trying to put any pressure on you, but the world isn't divided into black and white. There are good firebenders, just like there are evil earthbenders, or waterbenders, or even airbenders. If you want to truly achieve balance and harmony, you need to start seeing the shades of grey in people, not just dark or light."

~~Water~~

Zuko stood on the deck of the pirate ship, with the pirate captain standing next to him. Both of them were staring intently at the river in front of them. His crew was on a smaller riverboat behind them.

"Shouldn't we stop to check the forest?" The captain asked.

Zuko nearly sighed at the man's question. "There's no need. They stole a waterbending scroll, right?"

The captain nodded and made a noise, confirming Zuko's question.

"Then they'll be on the water."

The captain nodded and disappeared into the part of the ship that held all the stolen goods.

Iroh appeared on the deck a moment later. "Do you think the Avatar has found my lotus tile?"

"_UNCLE!"_

~~Water~~

Katara slowly slipped out of her sleeping bag, and pulled the waterbending scroll out of Aang's bag. She glanced guiltily at Aang's sleeping form, then backed away and turned around. Only to be met with a pair of golden eyes.

"Tora?" Katara gasped. She glanced at Tora's sleeping bag, only to find it empty.

"What are you doing Katara?" Tora asked, sounding tired.

"I- I was just-"

"Sneaking off with the scroll so you could practice waterbending, even though you told Aang it was his and you said you didn't want anything to do with it anymore." Tora finished for her.

Katara struggled to say something, before she finally sighed and her shoulders slumped. "Yeah."

"I know why you're doing it." Tora said, crossing her arms. "You're jealous. You're frustrated that Aang is better at waterbending than you, when you've been struggling along with it for your entire life."

"How do you know that?" Katara demanded, looking defiantly at the fifteen year old.

"Because that's exactly how I felt when I started teaching you when I first came to the Water Tribe." Tora admitted, shrugging her shoulders. Katara's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open a fraction. "Remember how I taught you a few moves I had made up myself?" She nodded. "Well, you figured them out so fast. Faster than I did. It made me feel... pretty bad." Tora rubbed her arms.

"Really?" Katara asked in surprise. When Tora nodded, Katara glanced at Aang. "I guess what frustrates me is that Aang hasn't ever tried waterbending before, but he's so good at it. Why is that?"

"He's the Avatar. He's mastered waterbending thousands of times before. And he'll do it again. But there will be an element he struggles with. The world doesn't just hand you things because you're important." Tora said. She smiled at the waterbender. "Go practice. I won't stop you. I just wanted to tell you that."

Katara smiled at the firebender. "Alright."

Tora watched her friend walk off toward the river, and got back into her sleeping bag, feeling a lot better than she had earlier.

~~Water~~

My eyes shot open, and I sat up straight. I glanced over at Katara's sleeping bag, only to find it empty. After a moment of panic, I remembered she had been practicing with it.

_She probably just lost track of time._ I promised myself. I turned toward Sokka and Aang, only to find their sleeping bags empty as well.

_Can I panic now?_ I asked myself.

_Yes._

"Where'd you guys go?!" I yelled, but only so loud that it echoed for a moment around the campsite. The silence was unnerving. Then, a familiar chittering filled the air, and I saw Momo flying above me.

"Hey, Momo. D'you know where they are?" I asked him. The lemur flew down and perched on the ground in front of me. He tilted his head to the side, then flew off in that direction. I stood still for a moment, before following. _What do I got to lose?_

I pushed back several branches, walked between several trees, and nearly got hit with an acorn dropping from the trees before I found where everyone was.

Katara was tied to a tree, with Zuko, Iroh, and the rest of Zuko's crew standing in front of her.

Aang and Sokka were tied up and standing in the centre of a group of... pirates.

_Damn them to hell. _I thought, growling.

"I'm so sorry Aang. This is all my fault." Katara apologized.

"No it's not, Katara." Aang said immediately.

"Yeah, it kind of is." Iroh commented, making Katara give him a weird look.

_Well played, old man._ I thought, smiling. It seems Iroh hadn't lost his sense of humor, even with being around his nephew, the most depressing guy I had ever met.

"Give me the boy." Zuko ordered, bringing my attention back to Prince Downer.

"You give us the scroll." The Pirate guy said. I nearly scoffed in annoyance.

"You're really gonna hand over the Avatar for a stupid piece of parchment?" Sokka demanded, making it sound like the idea was insane.

Zuko pointed at Sokka furiously. "Don't listen to him! He's trying to turn us against each other."

I watched everything play out.

"Your friend is the Avatar?" Pirate guy asked Sokka.

"Sure is, and I'll bet he'll fetch a lot more on the black market then that fancy scroll." Sokka answered. I smirked. I could see what he was doing.

"Shut your mouth, you water tribe peasant!" Zuko yelled furiously. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, Sokka, you really should shut your mouth..." Aang sort of sang, looking at Sokka like he was insane.

Sokka continued, ignoring the other two completely. "I'm just saying, it's bad business sense. Just imagine how much the Fire Lord would pay for the Avatar. You guys would be set for life!"

The Pirate guy stepped forward and pointed at Zuko. "Keep the scroll. We can buy a million of 'em with the money we get for the kid!" They turned around and started walking off.

"_You'll regret breaking a deal with me!_" Zuko snarled. I watched in amusement as a battle started, and I used the distraction to slip across the ground and over to where Katara was tied up. She gasped when she saw me, and nearly shouted my name, but I put a finger against my lips to let her know to be quiet. Then I used firebending to burn her ropes off.

"Thanks. I owe you one." She smiled at me.

"Yeah, you totally do." I agreed, before unsheathing my sword and running into the dust cloud that Aang had formed around the battle between the pirates and Zuko's firebenders. To be honest, I don't remember most of the fighting. Mostly because it seemed like there was none, because we couldn't see anything. I'll bet you anything, most of the time those guys were fighting, they were fighting their allies instead of their enemies.

Over the noise of the fighting, I heard Sokka yelling. "Aang, where are you?"

"I'm over here! Follow the sound of my voice!" Aang yelled. He sounded really close.

"Where? I can't find you!"

"I'm over here!" Aang yelled (his voice even louder than before) , before airbending the dust cloud away, revealing the fact that I had my sword against his throat and the pirates and firebenders were surrounding us. Aang quickly airbended the dust cloud back, before yelling, "Never mind! I'll find you!"

"Sorry 'bout that." I apologized, before running out of the dust cloud as fast as I could.

Aang followed, jumping out and sprinting across the ground. "Run!"

We sprinted toward one of the boats, I think it was the pirates, and found Katara trying to push it into the water.

"Katara! You're okay!" Aang yelled.

"Help me get this boat back in the water so we can get out of here!" She ordered.

We all tried pushing on the boat, but nothing happened. Nothing at all.

"It's impossible!" Sokka yelled in frustration. "We'd need a team of rhino's to move it!"

"A team of rhino's..." Aang's eyes lit up. "Or two waterbenders."

"Three! Does everyone forget that?" I demanded, huffing in annoyance, but getting into a stance all the same.

"Right. Sorry, Tora." Aang apologized immediately.

We started pulling on the water, making it swarm around the front of the ship. It raised the water level, and the boat was set afloat.

"Everyone in!" I ordered, and everyone quickly found a way into the ship.

Nearby, Zuko and the Pirate Captain had found themselves in combat with each other. Iroh suddenly intruded, stopping the two of them.

"Are you so busy fighting you cannot see your own ship has set sail?" Iroh demanded.

"Uncle, we have no time for your proverbs!" Zuko said in annoyance.

"It's not a proverb." Iroh said, pointing down the river, showing the Captain that his boat had been captured by the very people he had been trying to catch.

"Bleedin' hog-monkey's!" He cried, before running to catch them... on foot. Makes perfect sense.

Zuko laughed at the captains misfortune, before noticing that his own ship had been stolen by the rest of the crew. "Hey! That's my boat!" He ran after it, leaving Iroh alone.

"Maybe it should be a proverb..." He wondered to himself.

"Come on, Uncle!"

"SOKKA, CAN'T YOU MAKE THIS THING GO ANY FASTER?!" I screamed at him, watching in panic as the pirate's got closer to us.

"Don't yell at me! This thing wasn't made by the Water Tribe!" Sokka yelled back defensively.

I continued panicking internally when some of the pirates managed to get on board the ship. Aang managed to wash one of them overboard with a huge wave, while Katara finally figured out the water whip and knocked another one over.

And I? I waterbended some of the water from the river, held it in my hand for a moment, before throwing it at the pirate and froze it, freezing his head inside a chunk of ice. The weight made him fall overboard, and I quickly made sure I melted the ice as soon as he hit the water. I didn't want to kill anyone, after all.

"WILL YOU TWO STOP CONGRATULATING EACH OTHER AND HELP ME OUT?!" Sokka yelled in a panic, probably because he was being attacked by that weird lips guy and a really beefy guy. What is with these pirates and the weird features?

Anyway, the beefy guy threw Sokka into the sail, and Sokka slid to the ground. Aang attacked them with airbending, and Katara and I helped Sokka get up. I heard something, and I looked up to see the edge of a waterfall that was upstream of us.

"Katara?" I asked nervously.

"Yeah?" She looked at what I was staring at, and her eyes widened. "Aang, look!" She yelled, pointing forward.

When Aang turned to look at the waterfall, that weird lips guy raised his sword behind him. My eyes widened, and on instinct I raised my hand, fire exploding from my fingers. "DON'T TOUCH HIM!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. I manipulated the fire, and sent it right at him at full speed. It knocked him overboard.

And to thank me for my saving his life, Aang pulled out the whistle shaped like Appa and blew into it as hard as he could.

"'Gee, thanks for saving my life, Tora!' Hey, no problem, Aang." I muttered sarcastically.

"Are you insane? This is no time for flute practice!" Sokka yelled in annoyance.

"Aang, Tora! All of us, push and pull the water!" Katara yelled, already starting the push and pull motions. Aang and I joined her, and soon the boat turned sideways, just two metres away from falling over the waterfall.

"We're doing it!" Katara shouted enthusiastically.

"We've got another thing to worry about." Sokka said nervously, pointing past us. We looked and saw Zuko's ship, still covered in pirates, heading straight for us.

_The Spirits hate us. That's it. They just hate us. We're eternally damned._ I finally realized.

As the ship rammed into us, it made our ship start to tilt on its portside, and we were standing on the railing.

"Everyone hold on!" I yelled, grabbing Katara and Aang's hands. Katara grabbed Sokka's hand. And we jumped right off the boat into the waterfall.

_We're falling, we're falling, we're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're falling, ohmyspiritswe'regonnadie, I don't want to die, not like this, someone hates us, the Spirits hate us, we're falling, we're falling, why are we falling, I hate this, I hate this so much, I hate this, the Spirits hate us, I hate this, we're falling, we're gonna die, we're gonna die so hard..._

That was pretty much all I was thinking while we were falling. When you're falling off a cliff, or in this case a waterfall, you're brain works much faster than normal. It's kind of a rush, really. It feels weird.

Then I suddenly heard a THUMP and I fell onto something hard. When I finally had the courage to open my eyes, I saw that we were sitting in the centre of Appa's saddle.

"APPA!" I exclaimed, crawling onto his head and stroking it fondly. "I have never been more happy to see you than right now!"

He groaned in approval.

~~Water~~

"My boat!" Zuko yelled, staring as his riverboat fell over the waterfall and crashed into the rocks below. His uncle ran up next to him, trying to catch his breath.

"Hey, Prince Zuko. You're really going to get a kick out of this." Iroh grinned. Zuko stared at his Uncle, trying to figure out if he had finally lost his mind. Iroh suddenly pulled his arm out of his sleeve, holding in his hand... a lotus tile.

"The missing lotus tile was in my sleeve the whole time!" He grinned cheerfully. Zuko stared at his uncle for a moment, before snatching the damn tile from his fingers and chucking it over the side of the cliff. Then he stormed off, leaving Iroh alone to mourn the loss of his tile.

~~Water~~

I curled up in a ball in a corner of Appa's saddle, trying to relax - again - after the long day we had. And it wasn't even noon yet.

"You know, when this war is over - and I'm assuming we'll finish it sometime in August - I'm going to sleep until January." I said, tightening my grip on my sword. I was going to need therapy when our adventures were over.

"Aang, I still owe you an apology." Katara said, rudely interrupting my sleep. "You were just so good at waterbending without even trying, I got so competitive I put us all in danger. I'm sorry." She looked down, obviously ashamed of her actions.

"That's okay, Katara." Aang said immediately.

"Besides, who needs that stupid scroll anyway?" Katara asked.

"Is that really how you feel?" Sokka asked, pulling out the scroll from where it was hidden in his belt. "Then I guess I won't give you this back." He said teasingly.

"The scroll!" Katara exclaimed, making a grab for it. Sokka pulled it out of her reach.

"What have you learned?" He asked sternly.

"Stealing is wrong." Katara answered, sounding both like she meant it and she was being sarcastic at the same time. Sokka nodded, and his sister snatched the scroll from his hand. "Unless it's from pirates!" She finished.

"Good one, Katara!" Aang commented.

Sokka laughed, despite himself, and I soon joined in.

When we finished laughing, I pulled a sleeping bag out of my bag and held it out to them. "I packed up camp before I went to find you. Who wants to take a nap?"

Almost immediately, they all reached out and grabbed one.

"If anyone disturbs me, _They will face my wrath_." I said in a dead serious voice. They all nodded, and I sank into my sleeping bag. I immediately heard small snickers, and Sokka imitated me.

"They will face my wrath." Sokka mimicked.

"_**YOU WILL FACE MY WRATH!" **_I repeated, raising my voice and making it sound like a demon had said it. I was always good at that. That made them be quiet. Smiling to myself, I sunk even deeper into my blankets, and fell asleep.

**Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. That's what Gandi taught us.**

**Reference to How I Met Your Mother, if you're curious. **

**NEXT IS JET! YAY!**

**And, just to let you know, I'll be introducing a new character in the next chapter. FUN!**


	15. Meeting Jet

**Meeting Jet**

**Okay, I am seriously sorry for the long wait. I was really getting into my other story, and I had to finish chapter seven of it first before I could finally start working on this. And then when I started working on the original version of this, I finished it, but I didn't like it at first, so I had to redo it. **

**So, Sorry for the wait.**

**Now it's Jet. YAY!**

**And I'm introducing an OC. Some of you might notice some references to a certain movie in here... or not. Doesn't really matter.**

**Only thing I own... is Tora... and... Moro... and Kui. That's it.**

I stretched out comfortably over Appa's back. It had been... two, maybe three days since our little "adventure" with the pirates. Since then, Katara and Aang have been practicing waterbending every day. I taught Aang a few of the moves I had invented myself, like pulling water into a ring around you, then turning it into ice daggers and shooting them. Aang didn't really like that move, since it was sort of violent.

Aang let go of the reins and jumped into the saddle, smiling at us all. "So, when should we stop?" he asked them. Mostly, he was asking Sokka, because even though Sokka didn't know a lot of things, he knew his way around a map.

Sokka opened his mouth to respond, when Katara cut him off. "I think we should stop now."

"And why should we do that?" Sokka asked haughtily.

Katara gestured to the forest. "Look at the forest. There's bound to be a lot of fruits and nuts down there to eat. And if we're lucky, we'll find a town and get something there."

Sokka opened his mouth again, probably to shoot down her idea, when he closed it with an annoyed look on his face. This made me start laughing, and Katara started laughing as well. Aang grinned, not wanting to be mean like Katara and me, and grabbed the reins again. Appa slowly started to float down to the ground.

As soon as we touched the ground, I peeled off my Fire Nation tunic. It obvious enough that I was Fire Nation without the tunic broadcasting it to the world. And I'd rather not be considered a traitor to my Nation if some Fire Nation guys saw me with the Avatar and two Water Tribe people.

"Now what?" I asked, leaping from the saddle to the ground.

"I have absolutely no idea." Aang replied. Momo scurried off somewhere, probably to find some stuff to eat.

"There are some leechee nuts up there." Sokka said, pointing to the trees. "If one of us could get up there, we could have something to eat."

"Good idea, Sokka. Who's going to go up there, though?" Katara frowned. Sokka promptly looked at Aang.

"Thanks for volunteering, Aang!" Sokka said, slapping him on the back.

"I didn't... oh, alright." Aang sighed. He used airbending to propel himself up to the trees, and plucked several leechee nuts and some fruits from the trees above us.

None of us noticed, but a blur of white suddenly shot through the bushes behind us.

~~Water~~

"Jet!"

A brown, bushy-haired teen turned around and saw a dark haired girl on a white wolf coming toward him.

"Well, looks like Moro finally decided to grace us with her presence." He smirked, a twig hanging from his lips. Somehow, he managed to keep it in even while he was talking.

"Shut up, meat-head." Moro snapped, sliding off her wolf. "Or I'll have Kui crunch your face off, like he's been asking me."

Jet rolled his eyes. "That threat got old the tenth time you used it."

"Well, that _comeback_ got old the second time _you _used it."

"Well-"

"Do you want to hear what I have to say or not?" Moro demanded, scratching Kui's nose. "There are some weirdly dress people in the forest - and they're heading for the Fire Nation camp."

Jet smirked again, and propped his hook swords against his shoulders. "Well, it looks like we have a reason to go there. What Nation are they?"

"Two of them Water Tribe - don't know which one, though. One of them is dressed really weirdly - orange and yellow, and he's bald. An Air Nomad."

"So he's the Avatar, then?"

Moro nodded, confirming his suspicion. "And there's one girl."

"What nation is she?"

Moro paused, thinking. Gold eyes, black hair, pale skin... to mention the Fire Nation tunic she had been wearing before. "Earth Kingdom. Maybe some Fire Nation heritage mixed in... what do you think, Kui?"

She turned to her wolf. Kui's yellow eyes stared directly at her. _You're lying. To protect the girl. _He thought at her. Kui and Moro had some sort of odd connection between them. Or maybe it was Kui. Maybe he had the power of telepathy. Either way, Moro could understand whenever Kui was "talking" to her.

Moro nodded, then turned back to Jet. "Kui says her one of her grandparents was probably Fire Nation... most likely before the war started. So there's no reason to attack her, right? She can't help it if she has ash-maker heritage."

Jet paused, thinking it over. Then he nodded. "But if she's a firebender..."

"She's not." The girl promised. "Kui didn't sense any ash or smoke on her."

"Alright." Jet shouldered his swords, smiling. "Let's go save some girls from some ash-makers."

~~Water~~

"Hey, where's Momo?" Aang asked suddenly, looking around for the lemur.

"How should I know? He wandered off to find something to eat." I said, shrugging.

"Let's go look for him." Katara said, gesturing for us to walk.

After a few moments of searching, we found the little troublemaker - hanging in a cage from a tree, next to some hog-monkey's stuck in the same sort of cages.

"Momo! How'd you get up there?" I demanded, holding a hand over my eyes to shield them from the light.

"Hang on, Momo!" Aang yelled, using airbending to propel himself into the trees again. Once he got up there, he released a latch that was keeping the cages in the air, and the cage holding Momo dropped. Sokka and Katara caught it, lowered it carefully to the ground, and pried the bars open. Momo scurried out, holding some leechee nuts, and began eating them. Sokka groaned loudly and slapped his forehead in annoyance. I have to say, I agreed with him.

Aang dropped to the ground, and the hog-monkey's started making noises, pleading for us to let them go too. "Alright, you too!" Aang said cheerfully, leaping back into the trees.

Sokka had a different approach. "This is going to take forever." He said, pulling his boomerang out. He threw it into the air, and it sliced through the ropes holding the cages.

"That works." Aang commented, hanging upside down from a tree branch.

After we freed the hog-monkey's, they ran off, and Aang came down.

"Hey, I thought you said we could ride them." I said, crossing my arms.

"They've gotten smaller in the last one-hundred years." Aang said defensively.

"These are Fire Nation traps." Sokka deducted, inspecting the cage bars. "You can tell from the metal-work."

I walked over and peered at the cage over his shoulder. "He's right. How'd you know that?"

Sokka ignored me and got to his feet. "We'd better get moving."

Katara and Aang nodded in agreement, while I shrugged. Katara started to get onto Appa's back, when Sokka stopped her. "Hey, no flying this time."

"What? Why wouldn't we fly?" Aang asked in confusion.

"Think about it. Somehow Prince Zuko-"

"Since when do you call him 'prince'?" I asked. Again, Ponytail ignored me.

"Somehow Prince Zuko and the Fire Nation keep finding us. It's because of Appa, he's just too noticeable."

"Appa's not too noticeable!" Katara protested.

"I have to agree with Sokka on this one." I said, raising a hand in the air. "There can't be that many flying bison with giant arrows on their heads."

Appa groaned. I patted his nose. "Sorry, bud, but it's true."

"Tora's just jealous she doesn't have an arrow." Aang said, smiling at his pet.

"No, I'm not."

"You wish you had an arrow like mine."

"Not really."

"Look, I know you both want to fly, but my instincts tell me that we should play it safe and walk this time." Sokka continued.

"Who made you the boss?" Katara demanded, crossing her arms.

"I'm not the boss, I'm the leader. There's a difference."

I couldn't help it - I burst out laughing. "Y-you-_you're _the leader? But you're voice still cracks!"

"_I'm the oldest, and I'm a warrior_!" Sokka said, his voice squeaking. He then tried to continue, instantly deepening his voice. "**So, I'm the leader!"**

"If anyone's the leader, it's Aang." Katara stated. Aang blushed. "I mean, he is the Avatar."

"Are you kidding? He's just a goofy kid!" Sokka exclaimed.

Aang was not helping Katara prove her point. He was hanging upside down from Appa's ear. "He's right."

"Why do boys always think someone has to be the leader?" Katara wondered in annoyance. "I bet you wouldn't be so bossy if you kissed a girl!"

"I've kissed a girl!" Sokka said immediately. "You just... haven't met her."

"Who, Gran-Gran?" Katara teased. "I've met Gran-Gran."

"No, besides Gran-Gran!"

"Sokka, there aren't any other girls in the tribe our age besides us. And I seriously doubt you kissed your sister." I said. "Unless, you kissed one of the little girls."

"NO, I HAVE NOT!"

"Then, who?" I asked, pretending to be intrigued by the mystery. "Who have you kissed? It couldn't have been..." I gasped in fake horror. "One of the little boys!"

"ALRIGHT! _ENOUGH!" _Sokka yelled, losing patience.

"Alright, alright! Sheesh, I was only teasing." I sighed, rolling my eyes. "We'll try it your way, if you'll stop talking."

"Thank you!"

"Who knows?" Aang said, already having a pack on his back. "Walking might be fun!"

I sighed again. "Oh, yee of such optimism." But, I pulled a pack onto my back, and we headed out.

~~Water~~

At least ten minutes later, Aang was already complaining. "Walking _sucks_! How do people go anywhere without a flying bison?"

"Gee, I don't know, Aang! Why don't you ask Sokka's instincts?" I said sarcastically.

"Yeah, they seem to know everything." Katara chimed in.

"I'm tired of carrying this bag." Aang said.

"You know who you should ask to carry it for you?" Katara asked.

"Sokka's instincts!" I finished.

"Hey, that's a great idea!" Aang exclaimed, either not knowing we were kidding, or he is very good at acting. "Hey, Sokka's instincts, would you mind-"

"Okay, okay! I get it." Sokka exclaimed in annoyance, glaring at us. I could practically see smoke coming out of his ears. "I'm tired too, guys. But the important thing is that we're safe from the... Fire... Nation..."

"That was beautiful timing, guys. Just give yourself a round of applause." I said.

Because when Sokka had walked through a bush, we had all come face to face with some Fire Nation soldiers. It really _was_ beautiful timing.

"RUN!" Sokka yelled. Unfortunately, as we turned around to run off, the bush in front of us burst into flames. And unfortunately for me, I couldn't use my firebending to extinguish it. I had been trying to keep my bending on low-key lately. Me being a traitor to the Fire Nation wouldn't exactly help us out a whole lot. You could get a lot of money for giving traitors into the Fire Nation - it didn't matter what Nation you were. No one would help us if I had a price on my head.

"Sokka, your shirt!" Aang yelled, pointing at Sokka's sleeve. Which was on fire. Sokka started screaming, and Katara quickly put it out with waterbending.

We turned to face the soldiers. "If you let us go, we promise not to hurt you." Sokka said, holding his arms in front of us protectively.

"What are you doing?" I whisper- demanded.

"Bluffing?"

"You promise not to hurt us?" The leader - who had an eye patch, by the way - sneered.

Then his eyes rolled back into his head, and he fell to his knees, unconscious.

"Sokka's magic!" I gasped, watching. "Hey, I take back what I said about you kissing the boys, alright?"

"That wasn't me..." Sokka said in confusion.

"Look!" Katara yelled, pointing up.

There was a figure standing on a branch high above us. He looked like he was Sokka's age - but wearing green and red clothes, with mismatched armour on his shoulders and legs. He was holding twin hook-swords in his hands. He dropped from the trees, and hooked his swords around a branch and he seemed to propel himself in the direction of the soldiers. As soon as he hit the ground, he rushed forward and hooked his swords around two soldiers ankles and tripped them up, head over heels. As he did this, he flipped in mid-air. As he hit the ground, he smirked, and I saw he had some sort of twig in his mouth. "Down you go." He said, sounding a little arrogant. I mean, he took out two soldiers with his stupid swords. So what. Get over yourself.

A soldier came up from behind him, and the guy hooked his swords around the guys sword hand. He sent the soldier flying.

"They're in the trees!" Another soldier yelled. There was suddenly a blur of white that shot out from behind a mass of bushes; suddenly, the soldier that had yelled was on the ground. There was a large white wolf with yellow gleaming eyes, and bright white teeth that were dangerously close to the guys neck.

Sitting on top of the wolf was a girl with shoulder length black hair that was sort of uneven - meaning that her hair reached past her shoulders in the front, and only reached her neck in the back. She had a dark green shirt with short sleeves, and had a silver breastplate without a collar that covered only her chest. She had dark brown pants that barely reached her knees, and dark brown boots that actually did reach her knees. Around her arms from the elbows down were white bandages. She held a spear in her left hand, and a knife in her right.

But what caught my attention was her mask. It was darkish read, and only covered her forehead down to her nose. It had oval shaped eye holes, which were painted a sort of orangish color. There was a gray loop sort of thing that made "eyebrows" and looped down to the bottom of the mask between the eyes, and then back up over the other eye. Hanging over her hair from the top of the mask was a long sheet of white fur. Sticking out of the fur were red and black wolf ears.

"Not all of them." She smirked. Then she jumped off her wolf into the air, doing somersaults as she did, plummeted back to the earth, and slammed her foot into another soldiers face. Then she jumped off the soldiers face and back onto the wolf.

I heard something snap behind me, and I immediately turned around and whipped water from my canteen into the soldiers face. It knocked him off balance, and then a little kid wearing a helmet dropped from the trees onto his face, and started riding him. That made me laugh.

I heard Sokka giving a battle cry behind me, and turned around to watch. He had his club at the ready as a soldier ran toward him. Then the wolf leapt forward, grabbed the soldier by his shirt, shook him around a bit, and threw him against a tree. I gasped when I saw that he wasn't moving, and then sighed in relief when the guy groaned, felt his forehead, and ran off.

"Hey, he was mine!" Sokka yelled.

"Gotta be quicker next time." The girl shot back, smirking, before she rode away.

Then, before I knew it, the battle was over. All the soldiers had run off.

The girl slid off her wolf and scratched its ears fondly. The guy with the hook swords stood really close to Katara, smiling down at her cockily. "Hey."

"Hi." She smiled back, blushing a bit. I rolled my eyes. _Please, you could do so much better._

"You just took out a whole army almost single-handedly!" Aang exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"Army?" Sokka scoffed. "There was only like, twenty guys!"

The guy with the stupid twig in his mouth smiled at us. "Hey. My name's Jet. And these are my Freedom Fighters. Sneers, Longshot, Smellerbee, The Duke, Pipsqueak, Moro, and her wolf, Kui."

Sneers sneered at us. Longshot raised the brim of his straw hat, almost in a greeting. Smellerbee brandished his/her (because for the life of me, I couldn't tell what gender he/she was) swords. The Duke (I think it was that little kid with the helmet) raised his staff a little. Pipsqueak, a giant dude who was misnamed, put a log in a halter on his back. Moro walked closer to us, taking in our appearances.

"Pipsqueak! That's a funny name." Aang commented, grinning at the kid.

The Duke sniffed. Pipsqueak glared down at him. "You think my name is funny?" He demanded, using a deep, and slightly scary, voice.

Aang stared at him for a moment, before grinning and saying, "It's hilarious!"

I really hoped Aang wouldn't get squished by this guy. Moro seemed to know what I was thinking and smiled. "Don't worry. Pipsqueak is a gently guy - and he can take a joke."

Sure enough, Pipsqueak started laughing, joined soon after by The Duke and Aang. Pipsqueak slapped Aang on the back, sprawling him into the dirt.

I winced. Moro laughed. "But he underestimates his strength." She raised her mask, so now I could see her face. Her eyes were almond shaped, and dark green. She also had red warpaint. On her cheeks were two long fang shaped triangles that started just below her eyes and pointed down. Across her forehead was a long line that curved down a bit at the bridge of her nose, and then went back up. So it looked like a really flat "V".

"I'm Tora. The bald one is Aang, and that's Katara. The ponytail guy is her brother, Sokka." I introduced us all, shaking her hand.

A few minutes later, all of the Freedom Fighters - minus Jet - were inspecting all of the things the Fire Nation soldiers had in the camp. Jet was resting in the shade of a tree.

Kui had quickly proved himself to be a great friend to Appa and Momo. They were having little "conversations" over to the side.

"Uh, thanks for saving us, Jet." Katara said, blushing as she walked over to him. "We were lucky you were there."

"I should be thanking you." Jet replied, _finally_ taking that damn twig out of his mouth. "We were waiting to ambush those soldiers all morning. (Moro scoffed at this.) We just needed the right distraction, and then you stumbled in."

"We were relying on _instinct_." I said dryly. Sokka and Katara both glared at me. Moro snickered quietly.

"You'll get yourself killed doing that." Jet stated.

"Hey, Jet!" The Duke yelled. "There's a barrel filled with blasting jelly!"

"That's a great score." Jet commented.

"And this barrel is filled with jelly candy!" Pipsqueak added.

"Also good. Let's not get those mixed up."

"Don't worry." Moro said. "Even if we do, Kui will tell the difference. Won't you, Kui?" The wolf gave a small growl of agreement.

"We'll take this stuff back to the hideout." Pipsqueak said, putting the barrel of jelly candy on his shoulder.

"You guys have a hideout?" Aang asked.

"Sure do. You guys want to see it?" Jet asked. I noticed he kept looking at me. It was kind of freaking me out.

"_Yes we want to see it!"_ Katara said immediately, clasping her hands together.

Moro scoffed again. "I have to get Kui back to his cave. I'll meet you guys later, alright?"

The Freedom Fighters nodded, and Moro climbed onto Kui and shot off like lightning. I followed the others, walking next to Sokka. It seemed like he was the only one besides me who didn't like Jet. I don't even know why I didn't like Jet. I just didn't. It was probably something to do with that stupid twig in his mouth.

**So, do y'all like this chapter or not? I'm not sure if I like it yet. But I like Moro. I've been planning for her since Day 1 of this story.**

**So, did anyone catch the reference? The Hayao Miyazaki fans out there might have. If you haven't, it doesn't really matter.**

**And I sort of based Moro's mask off a character from a movie that I really like. Here's a link to the picture of the mask, if I didn't describe it well enough.**

/princess-mononoke-1997/58/# 

**After seeing the link, I don't think those of you who saw the movie but didn't catch the reference will get it now.**


	16. An Argument

**An Argument Between Friends**

**Yay, pretty fast update!**

**Okay, so how many of you like Moro? Just curious... **

**And, in case you're wondering, this is not the chapter where Jet tries to drown the town. That's next chapter. Sorry for disappointing you. If you were disappointed. **

**I swear, you guys are going to hate Katara by the time this chapter is over. Maybe Tora. But probably Katara. Maybe not though.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Avatar... just own Tora, Moro, and Kui. Which is awesome.**

"We're here." Jet said, stopping us in our tracks. We were just standing in the middle of a bunch of trees.

"There's nothing here." I said snarkily.

Katara shot me a glare, and Jet just glanced back at me. _Damn that twig of his... I'd like to set it on fire... probably not a good idea... but I can dream..._

"Hold this." He ordered, holding out a rope with a loop on the end to Sokka.

"Why? What's this do?" Sokka asked, before the rope looped around his wrist and yanked him off his feet, pulling him far above us into the tree leaves until he disappeared.

"Where'd he go?" I asked, glancing at Jet.

He didn't answer me, but he offered a similar rope to Aang, who had Momo on his shoulders. The Airbender declined, and airbended himself into the trees, disappearing where Sokka had disappeared.

"Tora?" Jet held out his hand to me, smiling. I didn't say anything, I just grabbed a rope I saw on the ground and yanked on it. I couldn't help but feel pride when I saw his perplexed look.

Then suddenly, I wasn't on the ground anymore. I was literally flying up into the air. When I looked down, I couldn't help but feel sick, and clung to the rope even tighter than before.

When I finally made it through the leaves, I rose through a hole in a floor. It was a platform that was built on the tree branches underneath me. I promptly let go of the rope and stepped onto the platform, breathing in. To be honest, I don't know what the big deal was. We practically lived on a flying bison, something that flew with miles and miles and miles above the ground (okay, I was exaggerating just a little.). Maybe I just didn't like heights when there wasn't anything between me and the ground. That's probably it.

Now that I had fixed myself, I took a look around. There were platforms and little huts built into the branches of the trees surrounding us. Bridges and zip lines connected them all. There were a lot of flights of stair.

Katara and Jet rose out of the hole in the floor just seconds after me, Jet holding onto Katara around the waist, and Katara's hand was on his chest. I smirked when I noticed the faint blush on her face. The blush faded as she stared in amazement at the scenery around us. Nearby, Aang shot down a zip line. "Nice place you got!" Seems like the place Aang would like.

"It's beautiful." Katara said in amazement.

"It's beautiful, and more importantly, the Fire Nation can't find us." Jet added.

Smellerbee suddenly dropped down from above us, finally speaking. Now I think I knew she was a girl. "They'd love to find you, wouldn't they Jet?"

"It's not gonna happen, Smellerbee." Jet replied, smirking.

I rolled my eyes. _So arrogant... he's just oozing it..._

I realized they were walking away, and quickly followed them. Sokka had appeared next to me, looking more annoyed than me.

"Don't like him either, huh?" I whispered, so only he could hear me.

"Yup."

"Why does the Fire Nation want to find you?" Katara asked Jet in front of us.

"I guess you could say I've been causing them a little trouble. See, they took over an Earth Kingdom town a few years back.

Pipsqueak suddenly spoke up, making me jump. How the hell did a guy that large sneak up on me?

... Come to think of it, how did a guy that big get up here on a rope?

"We've been ambushing their troops, cutting off their supplies line, and doing whatever we can to mess with 'em." Pipsqueak said proudly.

"One day, we'll drive the Fire Nation out of here for good and free that town." Jet finished.

"That's _so _brave." Katara gushed. I rolled my eyes again.

"Yeah, nothin''s braver than a guy in a treehouse." I remarked sarcastically. Sokka snickered, and we silently low-fived.

"Don't pay any attention to my friend." Katara said scornfully, glaring back at me. I glared right back.

"No problem. She's probably had a rough day."

"So, you all live here?" Katara asked him.

"That's right. Longshot over there?" I glanced at the silent boy. His head was down, and he was staring at the bridge under our feet. "His town got burned down by the Fire Nation. And we found The Duke trying to steal our food. I don't think he ever really had a family."

I glared furiously at him, and obviously he must have sensed something, because he looked back. "How can you say that? How can you talk about something like that to complete strangers? Don't you even care?"

Jet looked angry, and he opened his mouth when The Duke suddenly spoke up. "It's alright, Tora. I don't really mind."

"Well, I mind." I huffed, walking ahead of them all. "And I can't wait till we leave!"

~~Water~~

Moro watched Tora storm away from the group, smirking a little. She liked that girl. She had a spark.

Moro also hated how Jet just told people things that should have been personal and private for the person it was about. He did it all the time. When they had found The Duke, Jet had comforted him and told the kid how they had found Moro.

The girl shook her head, ridding her mind of these thoughts. _Don't think about that._ She told herself. _Don't live in the past. Live in today._

She smiled, remembering what her father had told her once. _Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift. That is why it is called the present. _She had taken those words to heart, and refused to dwell on the past, or wonder about the future. She stayed in the present, cherishing every single moment of life she had.

Because, before you knew it, it would all be gone.

She followed the firebender, walking along the tree branches silently. When she finally caught up with the girl, she dropped silently behind her. Then she spoke. "Hello."

Tora promptly jumped about a foot in the air, and spun around. When she saw the girl, she let out a breath in relief. "Please don't do that. It's already bad enough having the silent giant around."

Moro cracked a grin. That seemed to describe Pipsqueak perfectly. "So, you're a firebender, right?"

Tora gave a start in panic, before she smiled nervously. "What do you mean? No I'm not. How could I be a firebender? You saw me waterbend-"

Moro interrupted her. "Yes, I did see you waterbend. But it was rather obvious."

"How so?" Tora demanded, challenging her.

"Well, your eyes are yellow - a color that no other nation besides the Fire Nation have - you're pale skinned, you have a Fire Nation styled necklace, and you were wearing a Fire Nation tunic when I saw you get off that creature with the six legs. And if that wasn't obvious enough, Kui told me he smelled smoke and ash on you."

She nodded along... until the last thing Moro had said hit her. "Wait, he _told_ you?"

"Kui and I have some sort of special connection. We understand each other. When Kui thinks something he wants me to hear, I hear it, and vice-versa." Moro explained, fiddling with her hands as she spoke. It wasn't a complete lie.

"Oh."

They were silent for a few moments, before Moro spoke again. "You know, this probably goes without saying, but you should _not _do any firebending while you're staying with us."

"How come?"

Moro gave her a look like she was stupid. Which Tora did not like. "It doesn't matter to Jet if you're travelling with the Avatar or not. Hell, it wouldn't matter to him whether or not you stopped the Air Nomad genocide. If you're a firebender, you need to be taken care of."

Tora nodded, suddenly looking fearful.

"But, hey, don't worry about it. You just gotta be careful."

Tora pulled her knees up to her chest, before she smiled. "Jet thinks pretty highly of himself, doesn't he?"

Moro grinned. "Yeah, he does."

"He really thinks that what he's doing is helping to stop the war?"

Moro shrugged. "Pretty much."

"And he thinks that he's important enough to have assasin's sent after him?"

Moro looked at her. Tora shrugged. "Just guessing."

"Yup."

"I knew he was arrogant, but I didn't know he was that arrogant!"

This caused both of the girls to laugh for a while, until Tora finally stopped. "Moro, how did you come to the Freedom Fighters?"

Moro's face closed off. "All I can tell you right now is that it involves wolves."

~~Water~~

**Tora's point of view**

Later on, Katara came and found me. And she was ticked.

"_**What is your problem, Tora?!"**_ She demanded, her face flushed with anger. "Why did you storm away earlier?"

"Because." I answered, plucking a yellow leaf from a low-hanging branch above me. "Jet was being a jerk. I put him in his place."

"You didn't have to say those things! Jet was just being nice!"

"Jet was being annoying, inconsiderate, and arrogant!" I snapped, losing my patience. "He was annoying because of that _damn _twig in his _damn _mouth! He was being inconsiderate because he told us things that were _confidential_ and _private_ between him and the person he was talking about! He was being arrogant because he actually thinks that what he's doing is _actually helping_ to stop the war!"

"What he's doing _is_ helping to stop the war!" Katara yelled, her hair loopies bouncing in her rage. "He's freeing that Earth Kingdom town so it's people can live free!"

I laughed mockingly. "Yes, freeing a little Earth Kingdom town from a few Fire Nation soldiers will end the war! If he really wanted to actually _do _something, he wouldn't be hiding up _here_ in the_ trees_ with a bunch of _kids with little weapons_! He'd be out there, _doing it!_ Like we are!" **(Wow, that sounds really mean.)**

"They aren't hiding! Jet is following his destiny! Like we're helping Aang following his!"

"He shouldn't be following his destiny! And neither should Aang! They both should be _leading_ their destiny! Besides, Jet is practically like a terrorist on the Fire Nation! Frankly, I don't see what he's doing is helping the townspeople either!" I yelled, clenching my fists.

"Yes, he is! He wouldn't be fighting the soldiers if what he was doing wasn't helping the townspeople!" Katara countered, her blue eyes flashing.

I scoffed. "He's not helping them! He's hurting them indirectly! The soldiers probably think that it's people of the village stealing their stuff and ambushing their troops and stuff like that, so they're blaming innocent people and hurting them! Or, what if the supplies they have is for the people of that town? Whenever Jet steals them, they can't get them! Ever think of that? What if some of that stuff he stole was medicine for the sick or injured? Jet would be indirectly killing them!"

Katara took a step back. Her eyes narrowed. "Jet wouldn't do that."

"Yes he would!"

"Need I remind you that this wouldn't be happening if the Fire Nation hadn't started a hundred year war against the other Nations? You're people started this war! _It's their fault_!"

I gasped, taking a step back as well. That was a low blow. I stared at her in disbelief for a moment, before I clenched my fists even tighter. _"You think I don't know that?"_ I whispered. "You _actually think_ I _don't know that_? You think I don't notice the glares we get whenever we go through an Earth Kingdom town? You think I don't notice the glares I get from Fire Nation soldiers - _my own people,_ as you so "tactfully" put it - whenever they see me travelling with people from the other Nations? I'm considered a _traitor_ by my own people - even if I'm not legally a traitor, I don't have a wanted poster yet - and I'm hated by everyone else just because of something I _didn't_ cause and _can't_ control! The only people who don't hate me are you guys, and the few people we've met! And frankly, I'm not even sure if they trust me completely! Not even back in the South Pole!"

"Tora, how could you say that?" Katara gasped. I could see the sudden guilt appear in her eyes after she said what she said. "Gran-Gran and the others love you! You know that."

"No, I don't! I don't remember what real love feels like! I don't have any family members around me at all! Not like you! You're father is still alive! You're Grandmother is around you all the time, and she doesn't hate your guts because you're a "half-breed", as _my_ grandmother called me once! The only family member I have left is my father, and he's miles and miles away, I can't talk to him at all, I haven't seen him in two years, and I don't think I would _want _to talk to him even if I could!"

"I haven't seen my father in ages, and that's because he's out fighting the Fire Nation! He's out protecting us! You're father isn't! He hasn't protected you in years!" Katara screamed, losing all her patience.

A silence filled the air between us. You could practically feel the tension. Katara was breathing heavily, her eyes narrowed in a glare. My eyes had widened, and I knew how Aang had felt when Katara yelled at him about the waterbending scroll. Only, a million times worse.

I started walking backwards, away from her. I had to get away from Katara... someone I had considered my sister in all but blood for at least two years. How could she say that? How could she?

I suddenly realized I was running. _She's right._ I thought. _She's right. Her father is protecting them. My father sent me away because he was bullied by a couple of jerks. He doesn't care._

_Yes, he does. _A small part of my mind thought.

_He doesn't!_

_Does._

_Doesn't!_

_Does._

_Doesn't!_

_Does times infinity._

"SHUT UP!" I screamed, punching a tree. I immediately regretted this decision, as I felt splinters and pieces of bark cutting into my skin, not to mention the incredible pain I felt from hitting the tree's tough skin.

I promptly fell onto my knees, holding my fist in pain.

"Are you alright?"

I looked up, and saw the source of the voice.

My first thought was _green. _Because the first thing I saw was a pair of green eyes staring at me with concern. Then my eyes found the rest of the person's body.

It was a girl, either my age or a few years older. Her hair was black and curly, tied back into a messy side-bun with two chopsticks. She was wearing a long white skirt with green flowers imprinted on the lower left side. Her shirt was green as well, with a baggy waist and baggy sleeves that exposed her shoulders. She had a green wrap tied around her waist and trailing down to her ankles. She was only wearing a pair of black flats on her feet, and her ears held a pair of small gold hoops.

"I'm fine." I lied.

"No, you're not!" The girl exclaimed, grabbing my uninjured hand and pulling me to my feet with surprising strength. She then started dragging my by my left wrist. I, too startled and hurt to do anything, let her.

The green-girl brought me to a small hut with a long curtain for a door. She pushed past it and pulled me into the hut. She then forced me down into a sitting position on the bed. "Don't move." She ordered, turning around and digging through some of her stuff. After she shuffled around for something, she pulled out a roll of bandages and a small canteen. When she saw my stare, she explained. "I haven't needed the water for a while. The Freedom Fighters are especially careful not to get too hurt. If they get injured, then I just patch them up using these." She held up the bandages a little bit, before she set to work.

First, she carefully plucked the splinters and pieces of bark from my knuckle. She drew blood, but it didn't alarm me. Then she pulled out the cork of her canteen. After doing some graceful hand movements, a small stream of water slid out of the top. She covered her hands in the water, making some odd looking gloves, before she took my injured hand in hers.

There was a cool feeling, then suddenly all the pain left my hand. When the stranger let go, she unwrapped a couple of inches of bandages and cut it off. Then she started wrapping them around my hand and my wrist. When she saw me staring again, she shrugged. "Better to be safe than sorry."

"You're a waterbender?" I asked.

"Have been my whole life." She smiled proudly. "I'm Amaya."

"I'm Tora."

"I know. You're that girl who told off Jet earlier, right?"

I shrugged. "That would be me."

"Good for you. I've been wanting to tell him off for a while. He just never listens to me if it doesn't have to do with healing."

"So you're the healer for the Freedom Fighters here?"

"Pretty much." Amaya nodded. "I don't go on missions very often. The only time I went, Smellerbee was sick, and I didn't really do anything. I just made sure nobody got hurt too bad."

"I wonder if Katara's a healer..." I wondered. Thinking of Katara made me remember our fight. My face darkened. I was brought back to earth when Amaya said something. "Sorry, I wasn't listening. What'd you say?"

Amaya smiled. "I said, Moro says your a firebender and a waterbender. Is it true?"

I glanced around nervously. Amaya saw this. "Don't worry. I'm pretty secluded from the others. They know I like my privacy. They can't hear us here. And besides, if it was really important, they would have come in by now." I still felt uneasy, so Amaya went to check around. When she came back in, she said that there was nobody there.

"Yeah, I am a firebender and a waterbender." I let out in one breath. It felt good to tell someone that. I hadn't really felt the need to say it in a while. Everyone I travelled with knew it already. And I don't really tell Earth Kingdom people I'm a firebender unless they either a: don't care, or b: figure it out themselves. I usually prefer the first one.

"That's really cool!" Amaya commented, putting her canteen and her bandages back with her

stuff. "How is that possible?"

I shrugged. "Well, I don't know how it's actually possible, but my dad had waterbending in his blood, and my mom was a firebender." I prayed silently that she wouldn't ask about the "was" part.

I was lucky. She didn't ask.

There was suddenly a loud banging noise, followed by someone yelling, "Soup's on! Everybody, dinner's ready!"

Amaya grabbed my arm and pulled me along. "C'mon, dinner's ready!"

"I gathered that information."

She smiled at me, and I smiled back.

~~Water~~

A few minutes later, I was sitting next to Sokka, as far away from Katara as I could, and next to Moro. Katara and I would glare at each other every few seconds, before going back to normal for a minute, and then back to glaring.

"Where'd Amaya go?" I asked Moro.

"She's serving dinner today." Moro said, pointing towards the green-girl.

Amaya suddenly appeared holding a large black pot, and she dropped some brown... mush looking stuff onto all of our plates. "It's stew." She said, seeing our expressions.

"Thanks, 'Maya." Jet smiled at her. I noticed a faint blush appear on her face as she set down the pot. _Not Amaya too._

Suddenly everyone started chanting. "Speech! Speech! Speech!"

Jet stood up on the table, holding his glass and smirking. "You want a speech?"

Everyone started yelling in confirmation.

"Then you'll get one."

More cheering.

"Today, we struck another blow against the Fire Nation swine!" He yelled, raising his glass. Everyone cheered again. "I got a special feeling of joy when The Duke dropped down on one soldier's head, and rode him like a wild hog-monkey." The kid in question got up on the table, appreciating all their praise in the form of cheering. "Now, the Fire Nation think they don't have to worry about a couple of kids in the trees. Maybe they're right." _Got that right. _My opinions didn't really seem to match the other's opinions, because they all booed. "Or maybe..." He suddenly leaned over, and it seemed like the light from the lanterns gave him a devilish and scary look. _"They are dead wrong!"_

"And that's not even the slightest bit terrifying." I muttered to Amaya and Moro, who both laughed a little, but hid it in the form of coughs.

Jet got off the table, and the sound of the cheers diminished into the noise of chatter and dinner being eaten.

"Hey, Jet." Katara said, smiling as he sat down next to her. I noticed how close he was to her. I didn't like it. "Nice speech."

"Thanks. By the way, I was really impress with you three." He gestured to Aang, Katara, and me. I was surprised that he wasn't more upset with me from earlier. _Doesn't change anything. _"That was some nice waterbending out there today."

"Well, he's the Avatar. Tora and I could use a little more training." Katara said, looking down and blushing. I narrowed my eyes. _Just a few days ago, she was upset that Aang was better than her. And what gives her the right to say that I need more training? Even if it is true... _

"The Avatar, huh? Very nice." Jet commented, taking a drink, while somehow keeping the twig in his mouth. While he did this, he was also smiling, like he was thinking about something.

"Thanks, Jet!" Aang said cheerfully. The kid didn't really seem to have a problem with the rebel leader, like Sokka and I did. But he wasn't so obnoxious about him either, like Katara was. He was somewhere in the middle. Which was a good place to be, I guess.

"I think I might know a way you guys can help in our struggle." Jet said.

"No thanks." I said immediately, taking a bite out of my mush. It was surprisingly good.

"And unfortunately, we have to leave tonight." Sokka added, standing up and walking away.

_Good! _

"Aw, Sokka, you're kidding me!" Jet exclaimed dramatically, sounding wounded. "I needed you on an important mission tomorrow!"

Sokka, it seemed, couldn't stand the idea of being offered a place in a mission. He stopped walking away and reluctantly turned his head back to them. "What mission?"

Jet smirked. "We're going to be searching the forest for any Fire Nation troops. Having some Water Tribe knowledge would be useful."

Sokka finally sat down again. "Fine. We're leaving right after, though!"

Jet suddenly turned to me. "Tora, if you don't want to help Aang and Katara, there's always room for one more person. You could join Sokka."

I glared at my food for a moment, before I finally looked at him. "Fine." Then I turned to Amaya and Moro. "Do you mind if I sleep with one of you tonight? I'm not in the mood for facing Katara."

Amaya smiled cheerfully. "You can sleep in my room."

"Thanks."

"How come you don't want to face Katara?" Moro asked, yanking off a bite of some dried meat.

"We had a... disagreement earlier. Some things that _should not have been said _were said..." I said this part loud enough for Katara to hear. She shot me a glare. "That's it." I explained, plucking a leechee nut from one of the plates in front of me.

**Okay, sucky way to end this chapter. But I couldn't think of another way.**

**I swear, I wasn't planning on adding Amaya when I started this chapter. She just sort of... happened.**

**Next chapter: Jet shows his true colors. **

**And just so you know, Katara and Tora are still mad at each other. Who wouldn't be mad at Katara after what she said?**

**And, by the way, I had Katara say those things because I wanted her to. I mean, a crush on Jet made her blind to the fact he was a complete jerk, and made her doubt her own brother. First loves can make you do things you wouldn't normally do.**

**Not that I speak from experience or anything.**

**And, I had the idea of having songs for each chapter. You know, like each chapter has their own theme song. Don't think about the earlier chapters, because at the end of this story I'll put a list of all the songs for each chapter. Okay? What do you think?**

**BTW, I'll probably do it anyway, even if all of you hate the idea.**

**And those of you who are wondering about Moro's background, don't worry, it will come up in the future. IN this story, but in the future. **


	17. Jet's True Nature

**Jet's True Nature**

**So, yay, this is one of the last chapters for the episode "Jet". It's taken me at least three chapters (including this one) to finish, and I'm still not finished. I have at least, one chapter left to do.**

**Thank you reviewers! You make me smile. :D**

**Disclaimer: **

**Aang: Lady of the Spirit doesn't own me.**

**Sokka: Or me.**

**Katara: Or me. You made me a bitch in the last chapter!**

**Me: I had too!**

**Katara: No, you didn't!**

**Me: Yeah, I did. You'll understand later, okay?**

**Katara: Fine.**

**Jet: She doesn't own me either.**

**Me: GET OUT OF HERE, JERKBENDER! (Throws random things at him until he finally leaves the room.)**

**Jet: OKAY, OKAY, I'M LEAVING! JEEZ! (Leaves room.)**

**Tora: Good thing you don't own him. But you do own me.**

**Moro: Me as well.**

**Kui: **_**Me too.**_

**Amaya: And me! Yay!**

**Jet: (pokes head in the doorway) I'm not a bender, by the way!**

**Kui: **_**Enough! I'll bite your head off, you chattering ape!**_** (chases after Jet, and he runs away screaming as Kui rips his shirt with his teeth)**

**Me: References are fun! A pie for you if you can figure out where I got that.**

**Amaya: Don't you mean a cookie?**

**Me: No.**

**Tora: ... anyway, to make a long story short, Lady Of The Spirit doesn't own Avatar. She wishes she did, but she doesn't.**

**Tora, Amaya, Moro, and Kui: She owns us, though!**

**Also, fair warning, things might start getting a little wacky later on. Just ignore it.**

"Tora."

"Go away."

"Tora."

"I'm asleep."

"Tora!"

"Alright, I'm up! I'm awake!" I yelled, pulling the pillow off my head and sitting up. Amaya leaned back so I wouldn't smack into her forehead with my own forehead.

"It's time for you to go on that mission." She said, pulling her hair back into her messy bun and inserting the chopsticks.

I rubbed my eyes and yawned. "Stupid morning." I muttered.

"I thought firebenders were early risers." Amaya teased.

"Not this one." I replied, running my fingers through my hair to get the knots out. "What the hell is this mission about, anyway?" I usually only swore when I was nervous, majorly irritated, only a little irritated, and/or when I was tired. Or any other time, if I had a reason.

Amaya shrugged. "How should I know? Ask Moro. She'll be on the mission too."

"Alright, I will." I got to my feet, grabbed my sword, tied the scabbard to my waist, and walked out of the hut.

"Be careful with your hand! It hasn't completely healed yet!" Amaya yelled after me, even though I was only a few feet away.

"I will!" I yelled back, giving her the thumbs up with my uninjured hand.

I walked toward where Jet had told us to meet him in the morning. _Stupid morning... _I thought again.

"Morning, Tora." Sokka greeted, sounding just as cheerful as me.

"Morning, meat-head." I said back, yanking on his ponytail a little. Sokka rubbed his head, and then noticed my bandage hand.

"What happened to you?" He asked, sounding a little concerned.

I looked down at it, before looking back up at him with a raised eyebrow. "I sat next to you at dinner last night, and you just noticed it now?"

"Sue me, I was hungry. What happened?"

I shrugged. "Got angry. Punched a tree."

Sokka stared at me for a moment. Then Jet appeared. "Alright, troops." Jet said. "Our mission: we wait in the trees until we see Fire Nation troops. Then we ambush 'em. Simple enough, right? Wrong."

I raised my hand. Jet raised an eyebrow. "I have a question."

"Yeah, what is it?" Jet asked, sounding a little annoyed. I chose to ignore it.

"Why won't the mission be simple?"

Jet stared at me like I was stupid. "Because we're going up against firebenders. The Fire Nation. They're ruthless. Someone could get hurt. So all of you be careful, okay? Especially you, Moro." He added, glancing at the black-haired girl, who rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, whatever."

I frowned.

~~Water~~

All of us broke off into groups. Sokka and Jet. Smellerbee and Longshot. Pipsqueak and The Duke. Moro, Kui, and me. Sneers was by himself.

I hid in the bushes next to Moro, who was sitting on Kui with her spear and knife in hand. I was lying on the ground on my stomach, watching the ground carefully. "What is the point of this, exactly?" I muttered. Kui whined, like he agreed with me.

"I don't know." Moro whispered back.

There was suddenly the noise of a bird call. Moro nodded, and she responded with a low wolf growl. There was the bird noise again, this time from farther down.

"Someone's coming." Moro explained quietly when she saw my confused expression.

I nodded. I honestly didn't want to attack anyone, even if they were Fire Nation soldiers. I hated what they had done to the world, but they were my people.

That thought made me remember what Katara had said to me yesterday. _You're people started this war! It's their fault! _My eyes narrowed as I heard her voice in my ears. _Don't think about her. Stay focused, Tora. _For some reason, this voice came in the form of my dad's. It sounded like it had when he was teaching me.

I snapped out of my thoughts when a pair of feet and a cane came into my vision. I looked up through the bushes and saw an old man walking past me, his back crooked with old age. He was wearing a simple red robe.

"False alarm. It's just an old guy." I whispered to Moro. She nodded, looking uncomfortable. Suddenly she darted out of the bushes, blocking the old man's path. Kui snarled ferociously, his fur bristling. The old man gave a shout in panic, backing up. He backed up into Pipsqueak, who had come up behind him silently. _How does he do that?_

"What are you doing in our forest, you leech?" Jet's voice entered the conversation.

"Please, sir, I'm just a traveller." The Old Man said, walking forward, only to have his cane knocked out of his hand as Jet hit it with his hook swords. Kui growled, and I got the feeling this time he was growling at Jet.

I wanted to get to my feet. I wanted to stop this. But I was too horrified. _Why hadn't I seen this coming? It was too obvious._

"Do you like destroying towns? Do you like destroying families? _Do you?!" _Jet yelled, advancing on the man. He was now on the ground, cowering, with Pipsqueak's foot on his back, trying to not look at Kui's sharp fangs at think the worst.

"Please, have mercy!" He pleaded, shielding his hands with his head.

This only seemed to fuel Jet's rage. "Does the Fire Nation let people go?! Does the Fire Nation have mercy?!" He yelled. He moved his leg like he was about to give a kick.

That's when I found my voice.

"STOP IT!" I yelled, getting to my feet and tackling the rebel leader to the ground. Sokka was frozen in a position behind Jet, holding his club out like he was planning on snagging Jet's foot before I had suddenly darted out of the bushes and tackled him.

"What the hell, Tora? What was that for?" Jet demanded, pushing me off him. I got to my feet, glaring at him. I heard Kui give a small growl of approval, but I didn't think much of it.

"He's just an old guy, Jet!" I exclaimed, planting my hands on my hips.

"He's Fire Nation! Search him!" Jet ordered, getting to his feet as well. Moro jumped off of Kui and joined me at my side, glaring at Jet as well. Sokka stood on the other side of me.

"He's not hurting anyone, Jet! He's just passing through!" Moro said, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, look at him! How could he do any harm?" Sokka asked, gesturing to the Old Guy.

"Have you two forgotten the Fire Nation killed your mothers?" Jet demanded, glaring at both me and Sokka. "Remember why you fight!"

I stared at him. "How do you know that?"

"Katara told me." He snapped.

"She _what_?!"

He suddenly rounded on Moro. "And you! Have you forgotten what the Fire Nation did to you? How they killed your family and left you to die?"

Moro's face went white, and I saw a her normally neutral expression falter for a moment, revealing a pained look. She quickly composed herself and looked coolly at him. "I'd rather be dead right now than attack the innocent." She said, her voice radiating power.

"We got his stuff, Jet!" Smellerbee yelled, lifting a small red bag in her hand. It no doubt held the man's small amount of stuff.

"This doesn't feel right." Sokka said, still looking angry.

"That's because it's_ not_ right!" I yelled, clenching my fists.

"It's what has to be done. Now let's get out of here." Jet said coldly, before he rushed past us, followed by the others. "Come on, you guys!"

Moro glared after him. Sokka looked back at the old guy, then turned around and followed Jet. Moro turned to me. "Are you coming?"

"I'll be there in a sec. Just... tell Jet I had to investigate something." I promised. She nodded, and hopped onto Kui and rode off without looking back.

I turned my attention back to the old man, who was still on his hands and knees. I felt my anger leave my body.

"Don't be afraid." I whispered, seeing him flinch at my gaze. "I'm sorry." I got down on my knees in front of him. "This wasn't supposed to happen. I'll find your cane for you." I went off and looked through the bushes for a moment, before returning with his walking stick in my hand. "I found it." I placed it in the old man's hands and helped him stand up. "Do you want an escort to the town over there?"

He bowed his head. "If it isn't too much trouble."

I smiled. "Don't worry about it."

And so I escorted the old man to the village. I left him on the outskirts of the forest, because I couldn't let anyone see me. One of the soldiers there might have seen me when we met Jet.

"May the Spirits bless you, miss." The old man said to me, bowing Fire Nation style.

"The same to you." I replied, bowing back. Then I ran back into the forest, hoping to Spirits I wouldn't get caught. Or lost. But mostly caught.

~~Water~~

"Sokka, you told them what happened but you didn't mention the man was Fire Nation?" Jet asked, staring at Sokka in disbelief.

"No, he conveniently left that part out." Katara answered, turning and glaring at her brother.

"Fine! But even if he was Fire Nation, he was just a harmless civilian." Sokka said, crossing his arms. He knew Katara would take Jet's side. She had taken his side over her best friend's.

"He was an assassin, Sokka." Jet retorted, suddenly pulling out a knife and stabbing it into a block of wood. It was a scary looking blade. It had four spikes along the grip, so that someone could hold it and have the spikes poking out from between their fingers. There was also a ring on the end of the butt of the knife.

"See?" Jet asked, pulling on the ring and showing a small vile of light green liquid. "There's a secret compartment for the poison. He was sent to eliminate me. You and Tora helped save my life."

"I knew there was an explanation." Katara said, relieved.

"I didn't see any knife!" Sokka said, narrowing his eyes.

"That's because he was concealing it." Jet insisted.

"See Sokka? I'm sure you just didn't notice the knife." Katara said soothingly.

"There was no knife!" Sokka exclaimed. He was sure of it. "I'm going back to the hut and packing my things." Katara and Aang watched them go, but turned back to Jet when he suddenly spoke.

"Tell me you guys aren't leaving yet. I really need your help." Jet said, getting to his feet.

"What can we do?" The Avatar asked.

Jet explained. "The Fire Nation is planning on burning down our forest. If you both use water bending to fill the reservoir, we could fight the fires. But if you leave now, they'll destroy the whole valley."

Katara looked horrified. Then she became determined. "We won't leave. We'll help you. I'll go and try to get Sokka to see reason." She turned around and left the hut, following Sokka's path, with Aang following her.

Jet smirked as he watched them leave. He poked his head out the door, looking for something. He noticed Smellerbee walking toward him. "Have you seen her?"

"Yes. She's a firebender. Just like you said." Smellerbee answered.

Jet growled. "I knew it. Moro's been lying to us this whole time."

~~Water~~

I walked back to the hideout, feeling better than ever. I don't know why, but helping that old man had given me the uplift of a lifetime. I felt higher than the heavens.

That would all come crashing down in a moment.

"Tora!" Moro's voice yelled at me. She appeared a second later, tearing through the trees. Kui followed, close at her heels.

"Moro, what is it?" I asked, immediately concerned for my friends wellbeing.

"Run! Get out of here! I'll hold them off!" She yelled, grabbing my shoulders and shoving me in the other direction.

"What are you talking about?!" I demanded, stumbling slightly over the sudden shove.

"It's Jet! He found out that I lied to him about you being a firebender, and he's coming to get you!" She yelled, shoving me again. "Go!"

There was suddenly a small _thump_. Then an arrow whizzed past us, nearly scratching my shoulder. I jumped back as the arrow hit the ground.

"Longshot." I muttered, spinning around.

Jet suddenly emerged from the trees, glaring at us. He was followed by Smellerbee, Longshot, and Pipsqueak. They all had their weapons ready, and pointed at me. Moro immediately took a protective stance in front of me.

"Moro, get away from her. She's a damn ash-maker!" Jet ordered, his expression murderous.

"No." Moro spat. Kui circled us, snarling at the Freedom Fighters and their leader.

"I have no choice, then." Jet snapped his fingers. Suddenly there was a blur, and then Moro was lying on the ground, unconscious. Kui gave a roar and lunged at Jet. A second later, something whizzed past me, and suddenly there was an arrow stuck in Kui's back left leg. He fell, struggling to get back on his feet, before he collapsed next to Moro's body, unconscious as well.

"What did you just do?" I demanded in horror, getting down on my knees and placing a hand over them, protecting their bodies.

"Their just unconscious. They'll be fine." Jet said, looking as if he was disgusted to just be talking to me. "You, on the other hand, won't be."

I, since I had nothing left to lose anymore, lit my hands on fire. Jet's face became bathed in the light my fire gave off. He looked murderous. I shot a fireball at him, but he dodged just in time, hitting the ground, and my fire hit a tree instead.

"_**See?!" **_He yelled, pulling out his swords and advancing on me. "This is why we attack the Fire Nation! They're nothing but murderers! You're mother wasn't even killed by the Fire Nation, was she?"

"Oh, give the little boy a prize." I mocked. "Pretty smart, aren't ya? No she wasn't! But even if she had been, I wouldn't have let my rage drive me, like _you_ do!"

"I've been on my own since I was eight!" Jet bellowed, his eyes flashing. I shot another fireball toward him. "Because of you!"

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" I screamed. "JUST BECAUSE I'M FIRE NATION, DOESN'T MEAN THAT I'M EVIL, OR HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH STARTING THE WAR! I'M TRYING TO _STOP_ THE WAR BEFORE HUMANITY DESTROYS ITSELF!"

Behind me, out of my notice, Sneers appeared. He had a slingshot in his hand and twirled it around for a moment, before he threw a small rock out of it. It collided with the base of my skull, and the world went black.

~~Water~~

Sokka rested on his back, staring at the ceiling of the hut. It was dark out. He couldn't leave without Katara or Aang, and Aang was pretty much on Katara's hook. Katara refused to leave until they could help them put out the fire that the soldiers were supposedly going to cause.

There was suddenly a noise from outside. Jet's voice appeared. "Let's go."

Sokka pulled back the curtain hanging over the doorway, and saw Jet's followers disappearing to the ground on long ropes.

"Sokka."

He jumped and turned his head, only to see that girl that had served him dinner last night. What was her name again? "Uh..."

"Amaya." She said, pointing at herself.

"Right. What are you doing here?" He whispered.

"I'm worried. Tora hasn't come back to the hut yet. And I haven't seen Moro since noon." Her green eyes were wide in worry.

Sokka stared at her for a moment, before turning back to look at where Jet had disappeared. "I bet he knows where they are."

~~Water~~

"Okay, you hide in the trees. I'll go and check it out from the ground." Sokka said to Amaya, before he disappeared into the darkness, sliding down on a rope.

"Be careful." The Healer whispered, watching him go. She then crawled along a tree branch that extended over the place where Jet was with the rest of the Freedom Fighters.

"Okay, you're not to blow the dam until I give the signal." Jet was saying. "If the reservoir isn't full, the Fire Nation troops could survive." Amaya's eyes widened as she heard this. _What is he doing?_

"What about the people in the town?" The Duke asked, coming forward. "Won't they get wiped out too?" Amaya smiled. _Bless that kid. He's so sweet._

Jet placed a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "Look, Duke. That's the price of ridding this area of the Fire Nation." He turned to Longshot. "Now, don't blow the dam until I give the signal." The silent boy nodded. Jet smirked suddenly. "Bring her out."

Pipsqueak suddenly picked something out of the wagon. When Amaya looked closer, she saw with horror that it was Tora, with her hands tied behind her back and a gag in her mouth. Her eyes were a little glazed over, and she had a cut on her cheek. Other than that, she looked fine. She was screaming behind her gag, her eyes wild, and her cheeks flushed red with anger.

Jet grabbed the Fire Nation girl by her hair and dragged her over to Sneers. "Make sure she is put directly at the beginning of the dam. That way she'll get the worst affect."

Tora's gag slipped off her face, and she glared at him. _"Where are they, Jet?" _There was no humor in her voice. "Moro and Kui! What did you do with them?"

Jet rolled his eyes. "Don't worry about them. I wouldn't hurt one of my own. I left them in the forest. When they wake up, the dam will have burst, and you and the Fire Nation soldiers will be dead."

Suddenly, Amaya heard Smellerbee say, "Where do you think you're going, ponytail?"

_They found Sokka!_

"So glad you decided to join us, Sokka. You too, Amaya."

Amaya froze when she heard Jet say this. There was suddenly a flash of silver shooting past her, and this startled her so much she lost her balance and fell to the ground. Before she hit the ground, however, she fell into Pipsqueak's arms, and he held her tightly.

"Let her go, Jet!" Tora and Amaya both yelled at the same time. Amaya had been talking about Tora, while Tora was talking about Amaya.

Sokka, on the other hand, stayed silent and glared at Jet. "I heard your plan to wipe out the Earth Kingdom town."

"Our plan is to wipe out the Fire Nation troops." Jet retorted.

"There are people living in there, Jet. Mothers and fathers and children!" Sokka exclaimed.

"We can't win without making some sacrifices." Jet stated calmly.

There was suddenly a snort. Then a giggle. Both Jet and Sokka turned towards Tora, who stared back at them. "Hey, don't look at me." She said. If her hands had been free, she would have raised them in innocence.

Then the giggles turned into full-blown laughter. They all turned to Amaya. Her hair had fallen out of her bun in the process of her laughter and was hanging over her face in curly strands.

"Oh my Spirits!" Amaya laughed. "We can't win without making some sacrifices? There are no winners in war! We can only lose less badly than the other side. And right now, drowning an entire town means we're gonna lose way worse than the Fire Nation."

"You're wrong, 'Maya." Jet said, taking his twig out of his mouth. "If we do this, this forest will be free."

Amaya glared. "Don't call me that. Forget about the Fire Nation. This forest needs to be freed from _you._"

Jet glared back at her. He turned back to Sokka, who yelled, "You lied to Katara and Aang about the forest fire!"

"Because they don't understand the demands of war. Not like you and I do." Jet said, giving Sokka a look that made it seem like he wanted Sokka to agree with him and join their side.

"The - the - _the demands of war?_ We're talking about killing innocent people, Jet!" Amaya yelled, tears forming. "Please, don't do this! You're my friend, I know you! _Please!_"

"I was hoping you'd have an open mind. But I can see you've both made your choice." Jet sighed. Pipsqueak grabbed Sokka's hands and held them behind his back. Pipsqueak let go of Amaya, only so Smellerbee could grab her.

"Bee! Stop it!" Amaya yelled as her arms were twisted behind her back. "You're hurting me! Don't make me hurt you back!"

Smellerbee scoffed. "You wouldn't hurt me. You wouldn't hurt a_ spider-beetle_. There's a reason you've never gone on missions before."

Amaya's eyes filled with tears again. "What happened to you, Jet?!" She yelled at him. "What happened to the eight year old that used to value all life? What happened to the eight year old that cried with me when our parents were slaughtered right in front of us? What happened to my _friend_?"

"He grew up." Jet responded coldly. "Take them for a walk. A long walk."

Amaya's eyes narrowed. She suddenly snapped her head back, crashing it into Smellerbee's nose. When the war-painted girl let go and held the injured part of her face, Amaya took this as her chance and ran into the forest.

"COWARD!" Jet yelled after her.

Sneers stepped forward. "Should we go after her?"

Jet shook his head. "No. By the time she finds Moro - which is probably where she's going - the town will have been destroyed." He noticed that Smellerbee was still clutching her nose, drops of blood dripping out between the cracks in her fingers. "Longshot, look at Bee's nose. Pipsqueak, get going."

The silent giant nodded and disappeared into the forest, Sokka walking in front of him.

"Don't you dare hurt him!" Tora yelled. She had been silent for most of this, which was a little surprising.

Jet glared at her. "Don't worry about him. Worry about _you_."

~~Water~~

"MORO! KUI! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?" Amaya screamed, racing through the forest. "MORO!"

There was no reply other than the bird calls and the animal noises.

Amaya sighed and fell to her knees. She felt like she had been running for hours, when in truth, it had only been a few minutes. It was the gravity of the situation that made it seem like time was going slower than it was.

"God of the wind, God of the flames, God of the ocean, God of the earth, please help me." She whispered, tucking her hands into fists. The grass around her hands turned brown and died as she accidentally pulled the water out of the plants. "Help me find my friend and stop the killing of innocents. Please help me. Please. Please. _Please._"

There was suddenly a gust of air. Amaya looked up, and saw a woman standing in front of her. She was Fire Nation, no doubt about it, but she was wearing a dark blue dress and had earrings with the Water Tribe symbols on them.

"Are you a Spirit?" She whispered.

The woman laughed. "No, child. I am Tora's mother, Akemi. I have heard your prayer; I am here to help." Akemi closed her eyes, concentrating. Then she opened her eyes, and pointed to the west of them, toward the middle of the forest. "You're friends are there. They're not hurt, but you need them. Go."

Amaya quickly got to her feet and bowed. "Thank you! I won't let you down. I'll save your daughter!" Then she raced off, and Akemi disappeared into the wind.

**(oooh, that sounds a little creepy, doesn't it?)**

~~Water~~

"MORO WAKE UP!"

As Moro shot up, her forehead slammed into something hard. She promptly let out a cry in pain, holding her head. She glanced up and saw Amaya kneeling on the floor, doing the same.

"What the hell, Amaya? What was that for?" She moaned. Then she remembered what had happened. "Tora! She's in danger! Where's Kui?"

"Have a one track mind, don't you?" Amaya asked sarcastically. "Tora's been captured by Jet. He's gonna try and drown her and the Earth Kingdom town! Kui's over there!" Amaya pointed over to the side, where Kui was standing, looking concerned for her.

"**What?!"**

"He's gonna try and drown the Earth Kingdom town to get rid of the Fire Nation troops!" Amaya repeated, wiping her forehead. It had taken a red tint due to the hit, but it was slowly fading.

"I KNEW IT!" Moro yelled, jumping to her feet. "I knew Jet was going to do something like that! But he didn't tell me! He was gonna do it behind my back! Well, what's he gonna do? Is he planning on drowning the townspeople too?"

Amaya nodded.

Moro's eyes flashed. _This despicable war! Not even a shred of decency, or even_ questionable _righteousness... can't they see that they're just rushing down the path to self destruction?_

"We have to help Tora!" Amaya said, grabbing Moro by her shoulders. "Jet's gone mad - or maybe he went mad ages ago - and he won't listen to reason!"

"What about that Water Tribe boy? Sokka? Where's he?"

"Last time I saw him, Pipsqueak was leading him into the forest!"

"What about the other two - Katara and the Avatar?"

"Jet has them filling up the reservoir!"

~~Water~~

As the two girls spoke, Katara and Aang were just finishing up with the job Jet had given them.

Aang said, "I think that's enough. And I'm not just saying that to be lazy."

"Let's catch up with Jet at the reservoir." Katara suggested, blushing slightly. Not that she would ever admit it, but she had a slight crush on the rebel leader.

"I thought we agreed with Jet to meet back at the hideout." Aang said in confusion.

"Well, we finished early. I have a feeling he'll be happy to see us." Katara replied. She couldn't help but think of Tora. _Looks like you were wrong, Tora. Jet's not what you said he is._

~~Water~~

"I'm not going to be able to stop Jet _and_ free Tora!" Moro panicked as she and Amaya rode on Kui.

"I'll free Tora! You stop Jet!" Amaya yelled over the wind.

"But you won't be able to get to Tora without Kui, and I won't be able to get to Jet without Kui!" Moro yelled back.

Kui suddenly skidded to a halt, nearly throwing the girls off his back.

"What is it?" Amaya asked, peering over Moro's shoulder.

"Wolves." Moro muttered, her eyes narrowing. Suddenly, a large black wolf and a slightly smaller brown wolf appeared from behind a tree..

"Alright, what do you want here?" Moro demanded, glaring at them. The black wolf snarled.

Suddenly, a new voice joined the noise. _**How dare you show such disrespect to our clan?**_Amaya glanced around, looking for the source of the voice. It sounded like it was coming from Kui. But that was impossible... wasn't it?

_**You are no clan. You are only a mighty wolf that has succumbed to the will of a human. What is that other human doing here?**_That voice was male, and it sounded like it was coming from the black wolf. Amaya looked around nervously, starting to panic and think that she was losing her mind. The black wolf was looking directly at the waterbender.

"Human's are everywhere these days. This one is my friend." Moro said angrily. "This girl is not our enemy!"

The black wolf snarled and snapped its jaws. Kui started doing the same.

_**This is our forest! Go, before my fangs find you! **_The Kui sounding voice said.

_**The Northern Tribe is no more. We wish to join you. Please, excuse my mate.**_This voice was softer and kinder than the other one. It was probably coming from the brown wolf, who had its ears down and was humble looking.

Moro's expression became softer. "The Northern Tribe has been destroyed? How is this possible?" She asked.

_**The fire-people came. Many of us died. We escaped. Nanu is dead. We have come here to live in peace.**_The brown wolf said, stepping past its mate.

Moro looked at them sadly. "I'm so sorry for your loss. You may join our clan. But the humans are not for eating!" She said, her tone making it clear she would not tolerate any disrespect on the last part.

The black wolf looked like it wanted to disagree with this. The brown wolf looked relieved. _**Thank you-**_

"Not so fast!" Amaya interrupted.

Moro looked over her shoulder at the healer. "What are you doing?" She hissed.

"Please, help us! Our friend is in danger, and neither of us can reach where we need to go without Kui! Let one of us ride one of you!" Amaya pleaded.

_**Let a loathsome human ride on our back like a pack mule?! Is this what the Northern Clan has been reduced to?! Slavery to a human?! **_The black wolf roared, its teeth flashing in the sunlight.

_**Fenris! **_The brown wolf snapped. _**They have let us join their tribe. If one of them is in danger, we must help. The pack law is the law, after all.**_

The black wolf still looked like it wanted to argue, but lowered its ears. _**The waterbender can ride on you, Accalia. I refuse to let her ride on **__**me.**_

_**You will go look for a human that has the hair of a wolf. **_Kui's voice was back. _**He will need help freeing himself from the clutches of humans that wish to do him harm. You will help him find the human village. Is that clear - Fenris, if I'm not mistaken?**_

_**Fine! **_Fenris snapped._**But he will not ride on me.**_

"He'll ride on you if he needs to!" Moro snapped. She turned back to Amaya, who was already walking toward Accalia.

_**Get on.**_Accalia ordered. The waterbender slowly pulled herself onto the brown wolf's back, and she promptly disappeared into the forest.

~~Water~~

"How can you just stand by and do nothing while Jet wipes out an entire town and Tora?" Sokka asked Pipsqueak and Sneers furiously. Sneers had been ordered to follow the two other males by Jet.

"Hey, listen Sokka. Jet's a great leader. We follow what he says and things always turn out okay." Pipsqueak stated calmly.

Sokka rolled his eyes, and in the process noticed some of those snares that had caught Momo the other day. "If that's how Jet leads, then he's got a lot to learn!" He suddenly darted to the side. The Freedom Fighters ran after him. As Sokka leapt over the traps, the other two weren't as lucky and got caught, shooting into the air, peering out between the bars.

"While you're up there, you might want to work on your knot tying!" Sokka called to them, holding up his bindings. He had undone them as soon as the boys had stepped onto the traps.

The two Freedom Fighters were silent for a moment as they watched the Water Tribe boy run off, until Pipsqueak suddenly said, "Hey Sneers—you gonna eat your leechee nuts?" A nut struck him in the head and landed in his hands. "Ooh!"

Sokka took off running in the direction of the town. If he got there in time, he could get everyone out before the dam blew.

One problem. He had absolutely no idea how to get there.

He ran aimlessly for a few minutes, then stopped. He saw a black wolf standing in his path. It stared at him, then gestured with it's snout to follow. For a moment, it looked like it had glared at him. Sokka, not having any other idea, decided to follow. He started running after the wolf, jumping over rocks and tree roots the whole way there.

After a few more minutes, he was met with the sight of the town. He turned his head toward the wolf, and waved at it. "Thank you, black wolf!" he shouted. The wolf bowed its head, and took off sprinting into the woods.

~~Water~~

Of course, while all this was happening, Tora was having one of the worst days of her life.

She felt she had never been in a worse situation. Not only Jet had been smart enough to put her in a position where she couldn't use her bending, he put her wrists in chains. Fire-proof chains. Damn the people who made those things! She would survive the explosion with firebending. Jet hadn't thought of that. But with her hands tied, and no way to get the chains off, she would surely drown.

Jet approached the girl, while the other Freedom Fighters stacked the barrels of blasting jelly against the dam wall. Katara and Aang were far away, filling the reservoir.

"There's no use struggling. You'll never get free." The Rebel leader said.

The look Tora gave him was enough to make a braver man than Jet quell under her gaze. However, Jet stayed strong.

"I'm sure you're wondering how I figured it out. Well, I had my fighters spying on you ever since you got here, hoping that you would firebend so I could have some proof. I got the next best thing: Katara said you were Fire Nation."

Tora screamed at him through her gag.

"Oh, shut up."

~~Water~~

As Katara and Aang approached the dam, they came upon the edge of a cliff. They could see the Freedom Fighters stacking the barrels they had found the other day against the dam.

"What are they doing?" Katara asked.

Aang noticed something. "Hey, those are the barrels they got from the Fire Nation!"

"Why would they need blasting jelly?" Katara asked, frowning in confusion.

The final piece of the puzzle clicked into place in Aang's mind. His eyes widened in realization. "Because Jet's going to blow the dam."

Katara turned to him, her eyes widening. "What? No, that would destroy the town. Jet wouldn't do that." She was sure of it... wasn't she?

Aang suddenly noticed a person tied to the dam with chains. "They've got Tora tied to the dam! I've got to stop them!" He lifted his glider and ran to the edge of the cliff, ready for take off.

"Jet wouldn't do that..." Katara repeated, but she was less sure of herself. The evidence was against him. He was piling blasting jelly against the dam. He had Tora tied to the dam.

Right before Aang reached the edge of the cliff, Jet suddenly ran in front of him and snatched the glider from the Avatar's hands with his hook swords, tearing the fabric, where he had caught it. The two of them stared as the seventeen year old slowly stood up. "Yes, I would."

"Jet... why?" Katara whispered. She was wrong. Tora was right. Oh, Spirits, Tora! Katara hadn't apologized for their argument the other day! And if Jet's plan came through, she never would be able to.

"Katara, you would too if you just stopped to think!" Jet said, looking directly at her. "Think about what the Fire Nation did to your mother! We can't have them do that to anyone else ever again. And Tora would just turn on you in a second! It's in her blood!"

"Tora's not her people. She would never turn on us." Aang said, glaring at Jet. He couldn't believe he had _ever_ thought Jet was cool.

"This isn't the answer!" Katara pleaded.

"I want you to understand, Katara." Jet said, glancing down. "I thought your brother would understand, Amaya too, but-"

"Where's Sokka?" Katara demanded, tears falling from her eyes. She couldn't believe she had chosen this... this _monster_ over _Tora_, her _best friend_, and _Sokka_, her _brother_!

Jet reached out to her, placing a hand on her cheek. "Katara..."

Katara looked down, her eyebrows narrowing in anger. Right when she was about to whip Jet with her water, a howl broke through the air. They all turned to look where the noise had come from, and were surprised to see Moro and Kui charging through the forest toward them.

Moro looked terrifying. Her eyes were murderous. Her face was contorted with fury. Her long knife was in her hand, her other hand clutching Kui's fur.

Kui slid to a stop right on the outskirts of the forest. As soon as he stopped, Moro leapt off him gracefully and charged toward Jet, her knife pointed directly at him, her mouth open and a fierce battle yell exploding from her lips. Katara and Aang quickly jumped out of her way, giving her space to run her path.

Jet quickly pulled up his own sword, and Moro's knife clashed against his, the sharp tip only inches away from piercing his skin. Jet then lifted his other sword and slashed it toward her. However, Moro saw it in time and leapt out of the way, so the sword only sliced off a centimetre of her hair, and landed in a crouch. Jet came forward and attempted to hit her again, but she dodged. She used her dagger to block two more hits, and then thrust her dagger at his head, which Jet dodged. Moro would make a yell whenever she stabbed at the boy who had once been her friend, or whenever their weapons made contact. Her hair was flying, and there was a feral glint in her eyes.

They were both ready to kill the other.

"You- _clank -_ tried to -_ stab - _kill me, you - _slash - _bastard!"

"You - _stab_ - were -_ slice - _helping - _slash -_ the enemy - _clank_ -!"

Katara quickly realized she had to stop them from killing each other - no matter how much she was on Moro's side. She quickly pulled out the cork of her waterskin and thrust it at Jet with enough force to send him back and slam him against a tree. As Jet was slightly stunned, Katara blew... and the water started freezing over, trapping Jet against the tree.

Moro started forward again, but Aang stood in her way, his arms spread.

"Get out of my way, kid!"

"No. I don't want my friend to hurt you. And she will if you kill him without letting her get in some blows." Aang stated simply, not moving.

Kui came forward and pushed his large nose under Moro's arm. She glared at Jet for a moment, before she glanced back at Aang. "Fine."

~~Water~~

"There she is!" Amaya yelled, pointing at where Tora was, her black hair streaming back in the wind.

_**I see her!**_Accalia replied, rushing down into the path of the dam. Amaya quickly jumped off Accalia and rushed toward the Fire Nation girl, who was still struggling against her chains.

"Tora!"

Tora looked up. Her eyes shone with relief. As Amaya reached her, the healer immediately yanked the gag off Tora's mouth - something Tora was thankful for.

"What can I do?" Amaya demanded.

Tora glanced at Accalia. "Who's that?"

"Never mind! Just tell me what to do!"

"Uh... try and get my hands free?"

And so Amaya froze the chain with some water in her pouch, and it snapped easily under pressure. **(I don't know if that sounded right...)**

Suddenly, the sound of a bird call echoed through the sky.

~~Water~~

"Why, Jet? I trusted you! You lied to me. You're sick, and I trusted you!" Katara yelled at Jet, advancing.

Jet didn't say anything. Then, a bird call broke through the air.

Moro gasped as Jet replied the call. "NO!" She rushed to the edge, only to see something horrible.

Amaya and Tora were still in the path of the dam, with Accalia standing nearby.

"JET! AMAYA'S IN THE RESERVOIR!"

Jet's face immediately became a look of horror. It disappeared as soon as it had come. "It's too late. Amaya chose her path."

"NO!" Katara screamed, rushing to the edge of the cliff.

Aang attempted to fly off on his glider, but couldn't, as the wing had been torn when Jet had yanked it out of his hands. "Sokka's still out there - he still has a chance!" Aang said, staring at the dam and the girls still standing in the pathway.

"Please, Sokka. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. You have to do this - not just for the town, but for Tora too. _Please._" Katara whispered.

**A/N I seriously considered ending the chapter here... then I realized that would be really mean. So I didn't. You're welcome!**

~~Water~~

Amaya suddenly screamed and pointed at the sky. Tora looked, and saw a flaming arrow shooting out from the trees. _Longshot..._

_**We won't get out of the way in time... **_Accalia said, her voice sad. Tora didn't even bat an eye when the wolf spoke. She was too focused on the fact that they were going to die.

"GET BEHIND ME!" Tora yelled, her tone making it clear she didn't want an argument. Accalia quickly darted behind the firebender, but Amaya stood at her side.

The arrow hit the blasting jelly.

~~Water~~

The dam burst. Water exploded from it, washing over the two girls and the wolf.

Katara, Moro, and Aang all stared in horror as the water washed through the village.

"Sokka didn't make it." Aang said softly.

"All those people..." Katara whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "Tora..."

"Amaya... and Accalia. Oh, Fenris..." Moro whispered as well. Her sadness disappeared, only to be replaced with rage as she turned toward Jet. "HOW COULD YOU?! AMAYA WAS YOUR FRIEND!"

"She chose her own path." Jet repeated his words from earlier. "And this was a victory. The Fire Nation is gone, and this valley will be safe!"

"It will be safe." Sokka's voice appeared. He suddenly rose up from over the side of the edge of the cliff, sitting on Appa's head, the reins in his hands. His expression was incredibly sad. "From _you._"

"Sokka!" Katara exclaimed, her eyes momentarily lighting up at the sight of her brother. The light disappeared almost instantly.

"I warned the village of your plan just in time." He said.

"What?!" Jet yelled.

"At first they didn't believe me. The Fire Nation soldiers thought I was a spy. But one man vouched for me. The old man you attacked and Tora helped. He urged them to trust me, and we got everyone out in time."

"Sokka, you fool! We could have freed this valley!" Jet yelled at him.

Moro turned on him again. "WHO WOULD BE FREE, JET?! EVERYONE WOULD BE DEAD! YOU'RE LUCKY I DON'T KILL YOU RIGHT NOW!"

"You're both traitors." Jet spat. "You and Moro both."

"No, Jet. You became the traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people." Sokka said, looking at the rebel leader sadly.

"Katara, help me." Jet pleaded.

"Goodbye, Jet." Katara spoke coldly.

The Avatar and the waterbender both crawled onto Appa's saddle. Moro and Kui watched them get on.

"Would you like to come with us?" Aang asked the Wolf Girl.

Moro shook her head. "I have too much here."

Katara stared at her for a moment. "I'm sorry about that wolf. And Amaya."

Moro bowed her head slightly. "It's not your fault."

Sokka nodded at her. "Yip, Yip!" He yelled, snapping the reins. Appa flew off, away from Jet, away from Moro, and away from the place Tora had died.

~~Water~~

The former quartet - now a trio - sat around the fire. Katara had grown even more depressed when they had found Tora's sword in the middle of the forest. Jet had left it with Moro and Kui, but they hadn't noticed it in their panic.

Katara was clenching the sword to her chest, her head down. She looked inconsolable.

"It's my fault." Sokka suddenly said. "I should have been quicker. We might have been able to save them."

"No, it's my fault." Aang disagreed. "I should have gotten to the dam. I should have gotten out of Jet's way."

"IT'S ALL MY FAULT!" Katara suddenly screamed, making them turn to look at her. Appa groaned, a little startled. Momo hissed. "I SHOULDN'T HAVE TRUSTED JET! IF WE HADN'T HAD STAYED FOR SO LONG, THIS WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED!_ IT'S ALL MY FAULT!_"

Katara finally broke down crying. Aang was immediately at her side, Sokka at her other side. "I never got to apologize for everything I said to her..." Katara whispered, tears streaming down her face.

Neither of the boys asked her what she meant. Finally, Aang started crying as well, and although Sokka would deny it, his eyes started tearing up a little too.

~~Water~~

Moro had her face buried in Kui's fur, crying silently. Both Kui and Fenris were howling at the moon, mourning their losses. Kui had lost the members of his pack. Fenris had lost his mate.

Moro had lost her friends.

"I'm so sorry, Fenris." She apologized over and over. "I tried to stop Jet. But..."

_**Stop apologizing. **_Fenris said. He had stopped his howling for a moment. _**We'll take our revenge. We'll kill Jet and his fighters. We'll-**_

"No." Moro interrupted. "We won't. Amaya and Accalia wouldn't want that. Amaya would want us to go on living. And although I don't know Accalia very well, I know that's what she would have wanted."

Fenris opened his mouth. _**But-**_ He suddenly stopped. He lifted his muzzle and sniffed the air. Kui did the same. Moro watched them both do this with a small sense of confusion. She was even more confused when Fenris suddenly leapt to his feet. It looked like he was smiling.

"What is it?" She asked.

_**Accalia! She's alive! I can smell her!**_Fenris answered. He suddenly darted away, running toward the river the dam had made.

Kui and Moro stared after him for a moment, before Moro jumped to her feet and sprinted after him, Kui following a second later.

"What about Amaya and Tora? Are they alive?" Moro asked, dodging branches and rocks as she ran through the trees.

_**I can't tell! Accalia's the only one I can sense right now!**_He sounded so happy, Moro felt like her heart would burst. The Alpha of the pack was always happy when one of their pack members was happy like this. And she was the Alpha of the pack.

They soon reached the bank of the river. It was slowly draining out, but it was still very full.

Lying unconscious on the side of the river were the forms of Accalia, Amaya, and Tora.

_**Accalia! **_Fenris shouted, sprinting to her side. He started nuzzling her gently, and her eyes fluttered open.

_**Am I dead?**_

_**No, you're alive. Oh, you're alive!**_ Fenris replied, as he licked her face with joy. Accalia slowly lifted her head and they touched noses.

_**What about the humans? Are they alright? They protected me.**_

Moro and Kui ran to the girls. Moro checked to make sure they were breathing, and was relieved to hear the steady beats of their heart. She sighed, finally relaxing. "Yes, they're fine. Unconscious, but fine."

_**Good.**_Accalia said, before her head fell back onto the ground. She was so exhausted she had fallen asleep.

**Yay, Tora's alive, Amaya's alive, Accalia's alive, and the chapter is over!**

**Katara: So, the only reason you made me a bitch in the last chapter is so I would have a total meltdown in this chapter?**

**Me: Pretty much.**

**Katara: I don't like you.**

**Me: Thanks!**

**I wanted to get everything done in this one chapter, so that's why it took me so long to write this. **

**Also, like Amaya, Accalia and Fenris were just completely random. Mwahahaha.**

**Some of you might have noticed more references. Yay for you if you did notice!**

**Next chapter will be explaining about Moro and Amaya's past. Yay.**

_Theme Songs for this chapter:_

The Battle Of Wolves - Two Steps From Hell

_Character Theme Songs:_

Moro - The Legend Of Ashitaka (from _Princess Mononoke_)

Amaya - Bird Person (from _Nausicaa: Of The Valley Of The Wind_)

Kui - Heart of Courage (Two Steps From Hell)

Fenris - Freedom Fighters (Two Steps From Hell)

Accalia - Nausicaa Requiem (from Nausicaa: Of The Valley Of The Wind)

**If you haven't seen these movies or listened to these songs, I highly suggest you should.**

**BYE FOR NOW!**

**PLEASE REVIEW! THEY MAKE ME SMILE!**


	18. A Wolf Girl and A Healer

**A Wolf Girl and a Healer**

**So in this chapter we find out about Moro and Amaya's past. Like, how Moro can communicate with the wolves, and how Amaya came to the Freedom Fighters and all that stuff. Fun, right?**

**Last part of the episode Jet! I'm sad now. This is one of my favourite episodes. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own Avatar. If I did, I would have Jet live, and the Kyoshi Warriors would be in the Legend of Korra. Because they're awesome.**

**And I would make Irosami a reality. Because they are adorable. Don't even start with me, they're adorable and you know it. And Bolin would have a girlfriend, because I just love him so much. **

Amaya's eyes fluttered open. She was immediately met with the sight of the sun breaking through the golden leaves of the trees.

_If this is heaven, I would gladly spend eternity here. _She thought.

She knew she wasn't dead when she felt her entire body ache.

"Amaya! You're up!"

Tora?

Amaya slowly sat up, immediately feeling a sharp pain in her side.

_**You shouldn't get up yet. You're still somewhat injured. **_Accalia too?

She finally opened her eyes all the way. What she saw was the best thing she could have ever seen.

Tora was sitting a few feet away from her, clearly alive. Her necklace was still on her neck, shining in the sunlight and the gems casting red shadows across her legs.

Moro was holding a stick with pieces of meat on it over a fire. Her markings were a little faded, but still very much there. She looked relieved to see her friend was okay.

The wolves, Kui, Accalia and Fenris, were resting in the shadows. The boy's ears would prick up slightly ever so often. Accalia had her head resting on her paws, staring directly at the waterbender.

"What happened?" Amaya groaned as she felt her head. She had a headache too, on top of everything else.

"Well, somehow after being hit with water bursting from a dam, you're all alive. You were unconscious for a few hours. Tora woke up a little before you did." Moro answered, concentrating on roasting their meat properly.

Amaya remembered.

_**Flashback**_

"_GET BEHIND ME!" Tora yelled, her tone making it clear she didn't want an argument. Accalia quickly darted behind the firebender, but Amaya stood at her side._

_The arrow hit the blasting jelly. Tora raised a wall of fire, shielding them all from the explosion and the large splinters of wood flying everywhere._

_Amaya suddenly realized that her hand was in front of her, in a stop motion. She felt oddly calm when she was faced with certain death. She felt Tora take her other hand, before the firebender put her hand in front of her in the same stop motion._

_The water spread over them, around them, and under them. But not through them. The water just passed right on by them, as if there was an invisibly bubble surrounding them._

_The water stopped flowing at the fast rate it had been going. It started to slow, until it was moving comfortably at a reasonable pace._

_The two girls felt exhausted, and the felt Accalia nudge them with her nose._

_Then they collapsed, letting the water carry them away._

_**End flashback**_

"The water just flowed around us... like there was a force field." Amaya remembered. Tora nodded.

"I think it was our conjoined bending abilities that made it happen." She said thoughtfully. Moro shrugged.

"However it happened, I'm just glad you're all okay now." She pulled the meat from the flames and offered it to Tora, who inspected them carefully.

"They're good now." She said, and Moro tossed them to the wolves.

"Where'd you get the meat?" Amaya asked. She noticed Moro glance over at Fenris, who was cleaning his fangs. There was some sort of red stain around his mouth.

Amaya didn't ask for an explanation.

"So, where are we?" Amaya asked, sitting up.

Moro shrugged. "Someplace in the forest, far, far, far away from the Freedom Fighters. Fenris carried Accalia, and Kui carried you two. I walked."

_**Humans. **_Tora and Amaya both turned toward Fenris, who had spoken. He looked a little uncomfortable. _**I must thank you for saving my mate. I am forever in your debt. **_He lowered his head a little, and they both realized that he was doing the wolf version of bowing.

"You don't owe us anything." Tora said immediately. "But Moro does."

The girl in question jumped a little when her name was said. "What do I owe you, exactly?"

"We're talking to three wolves. I think this calls for an explanation on how this is possible." Tora said sarcastically.

Moro gave a small grin. "Even after having a near death experience, a person can manage sarcasm."

Tora grinned back. Then Moro's smile faltered. She sighed and started at the flames. "Where to begin...?"

"Start with your parents." Amaya offered. "That's a good place."

Moro looked up. "Fair warning, it's not a happy story."

"Would any of us be here right now if we had happy lives?" Amaya asked sarcastically, gesturing to their surroundings.

"I had an okay life." Tora shrugged. "Except my mother died when I was five, and my dad sent me away. Everything else was pretty good."

The other girls stared at the firebender for a moment, unreadable expressions on their faces. "Alright, then." Moro said finally. "I'll tell you." She took a deep breath, and started.

~~Water~~

I was born in a small Earth Kingdom town, Shuwa. It was pretty insignificant - like Gaipan, but a little bigger. My parents weren't exactly the perfect couple. They fought all the time, and my mother ignored me a lot. I was what you would call a "mistake". My dad never ignored me. He always made sure he had time to spend with me, no matter what he had to do for work. He was an earthbender, and he wanted another earthbender so he could teach his style of bending. He had a very old fashioned style, one that isn't around anymore. But I wasn't a bender, and I knew I had disappointed him. So I managed to work his earthbending style into my fighting style, so that even if I couldn't bend, I would know the style like any bender would.

My mother was someone completely different - she had been a former brothel girl, but she had ran away when she overheard her boss speaking to some vile man about buying her contract. Then she met my father, and they fell in love. But she didn't want children. So when it became obvious that she was pregnant with me, she became very depressed. When I was born, she held me and did everything that meant I would survive, but she didn't love me.

You expected me to say that as I got older, my parent's arguing got worse and worse, right? Well, instead it got better. When I turned six, the only time they argued was in the morning and at lunch. When I was seven, they only argued when I was asleep. And when I was eight, they stopped arguing all together!

Then, when I was eight, my mother got pregnant again. Now that she knew what to do with a child, she was happier over the nine months. Life was better than ever before. It was a boy. My parents named him Hai, after the sea. Hai and I became very close, despite the gap between our ages.

Then everything went wrong. My mother died from an illness a few years after Hai was born, leaving my brother and me to our father. My father wasn't the same after that. He loved us and everything, and he acted the same as he had before, but he wasn't the same. Sometimes, he would sit at the window and just stare into nothing, like he was a stranger. I used to watch him, completely silent, because I worried that if I made a noise, and he looked at me, he wouldn't recognize me. That thought scared me more than anything else.

Eventually, he joined the army. That was when I was fourteen. He left us, and he went off to fight.

For me and Hai, the war only meant one thing - waiting. Waiting for news from or of father, waiting for the end of the war, waiting for father to come home. Then... the news came. Father was dead. He had been killed in battle... viciously slaughtered by that dog, General Amal. This left me and Hai alone. The only things we had left of father was his sword, generously brought to us by the soldier that brought the news of his death.

But a poison grew inside me...

~~Water~~

"Don't follow me, Hai." Moro snapped. She looked different than she would when she became sixteen. Her hair was long and reached her waist, with a few strands here and there poking out. Her face was clear of any markings. She wore a dark red tunic with sleeves that reached her elbows, with a wrap around her waist, over a black tank top shirt. Wrapped around her arms from the elbow down to her wrists were white bandages. She wore black pants that reached her knees, and dark brown hiking boots that met the ends of her pants. "I have to do this."

"Do what? Moro, why are you taking father's things?" Hai asked, staring at her from the doorway. Moro walked over to a chest, pulled it open, and took out a long shining sword that gleamed in the moonlight showing through the curtains over the window.

"I'm going to find the man that killed him." Moro said coldly, sheathing the sword and tying it to her waist.

Hai gaped at her. "General Amal?"

Moro was silent. Hai ran forward and grabbed the bag that hung from her shoulder. "What will hunting him down accomplish? We already have to dig one grave! I don't want to dig a second!"

There was a flash of silver, and suddenly Moro had her sword pointed at Hai's chest. "Look at yourself, Moro."

"You can't stop me, Hai."

"You hold a sword to your own brother? Is revenge worth this?" Hai demanded, glaring at her. He saw something in her eyes... something he didn't like.

"I won't let father's death be in vain!" Moro yelled, not lowering the weapon. "He would have wanted this!"

"He would have wanted us to stay here, where it is safe!" Hai insisted.

Moro's eyes widened, but a scowl formed on her face. She pulled the sword back and sheathed it, but walked right past her brother towards the door. "Father gave his life... protecting us, and his Nation."

She stood in the doorframe, and looked back at him. "Imagine his shame if he knew he had raised a complete coward of a son!" She slammed the door behind her, making Hai wince.

~~Water~~

My mind was made up. I would kill General Amal. Nothing would stop me. I didn't even stop to look at myself in the mirror, or hug my brother one last time before I left. I wish I had.

After a few days of travelling, I reached the battlefield... only to find that the battle was over. The field was washed in blood, with stains of black, green, and red to show the fallen soldiers. Earth pillars stood up everywhere, and the landscape had been completely burned to ashes.

It was then that I realized that there were no winners in war. Only losers. Hatred is what set us on this path of destruction, and it would be hatred that destroyed the human race. If I allowed myself to be swallowed up by it, I would only destroy myself. I ran home immediately, not stopping even to sleep. I lived off of nuts and berries I found in the woods.

But when I reached home, it was too late. I was too late. The soldiers had reached home. They destroyed Shuwa.

Eventually, I found my brother's body.

~~Water~~

Moro found her house. It had been one of the first houses that had started burning when the soldiers attacked. She dug through the fallen wood, her heart pounding in her chest. She hoped she wouldn't find what she thought she would find.

But she found it. Hai was at the bottom of the wood pile, a long wooden beam resting on his chest.

"Brother..." She whimpered, attempting to shove the beam off her father. After a few attempts, it finally moved. She positioned her dad so that his head was in her lap. "Don't you worry, Hai. You'll be fine. Don't worry!" She didn't know who she was reassuring at this point. Tears had started leaking out of her eyes and down her cheeks, splattering against her brother's face.

"Moro..." Hai whispered. He managed to slowly raise his hand, and he stroked her face. He managed a smile. His eyes closed, and her brother died with a smile on his face.

Moro had felt a completely numb feeling. She found she couldn't even cry. Instead, she started to laugh.

She laughed because it was so unreal. Her mother had died long ago. Her father had died in war. Now her brother was dead, and so were the friends she had grown up with. It was so unreal, so unbelievable, that she started laughing so hard she started crying.

~~Water~~

That was when I was found by Kui.

~~Water~~

She suddenly felt something nuzzle her. She looked up and saw a large white wolf. She should have been scared. But this wolf had been her neighbour's guard dog, so she knew him. His name was Kui.

"Where now, Kui?" She asked him softly. "Where do we have to go?" He was like her. The only living thing left of Shuwa.

That was the first time Kui ever spoke to her.

_**I know where we can go.**_

Moro jumped and gave a small scream.

_**Don't be frightened. It's just me.**_

"You... can speak?" Moro finally blurted out, staring at the white wolf with wide eyes.

_**Obviously.**_

"How is this possible? You... you shouldn't..." Moro stuttered, still staring.

_**Animals have always been able to talk. **_Kui explained, licking her face gently. _**It just takes humans a long time for them to hear us. Now that you have heard me, you will hear all animals speaking.**_

~~Water~~

Kui took me to a place I had never been before. It was the deepest part of the forest. Nobody in the village had ever had the courage to travel that far. Not even me.

It was there that I made my markings and Kui and I became a clan.

~~Water~~

Kui watched from a short distance as Moro sobbed on the ground again. Her hair was falling over her face, so he couldn't see her very well. He hated it when she cried.

He hadn't been paying very close attention, so when Moro suddenly got up, he was startled. He noticed that she was holding a small dagger in her hands.

He quickly leapt to his feet when he saw her raise the dagger up to her hand.

_**What are you doing?! **_He demanded.

Moro just looked at him, then her eyes went back to her hand. In one quick motion, she had made a long cut in the center of her palm, and it quickly started to bleed. She hissed at the pain.

_**What are you doing? **_Kui asked again, less sure this time that she was trying to kill herself.

"I'm the only survivor of that massacre." She said calmly. "I'm the only survivor of my family. I'm going to show that." She wiped some blood from her cut hand using her pointer finger, placed it against her cheek, and made a long wolf fang shaped mark on her cheek. It started just below her eye and curved down to her jawbone. She got some more blood and did the same on her other cheek.

_**Is that it?**_ Kui asked, sounding like he hoped it was.

"No." Moro then raised her hand to her forehead, and made a long flat v-shaped mark that spread across her forehead. "There. One for my brother. One for my mother. One for my father. If I lose you, I'll add a fourth."

_**You won't lose me so easily. **_Kui said. _**Wolves are more careful than humans are.**_

"Something I am very grateful for." Moro smiled. It had been days since she had last smiled.

~~Water~~

After that, Kui and I lived in the forest. I became what you would call a "wild child". Any Fire Nation soldiers that saw me started telling people about "The Wolf Girl", an angry Spirit that lived deep in the forest with her wolf Spirit companion. Then at least two years ago, the Fire Nation took over the village in the forest I was living in at the time. So Kui and I decided to give them... a little visit.

~~Water~~

"Ready, Kui?" The girl whispered in the wolf's ear. She had changed over the past two years. Her markings stood out more than ever. Her hair had been cut so now it was uneven - long in the front and short in the back. She was wearing a dark green shirt had the sleeves ripped off, entirely exposing her arms, without a breastplate or the bandages. She was wearing a torn black pair of pants that reached her knees, with slits up the legs so she could crouch down and not feel confined in her clothes. Her mask was covering her face from the forehead down. Her feet were completely bare, not to mention covered in dirt.

So, in other words, everything except for her skirt, shirt, and the lack of a breastplate or shoes were the same as they were in the present.

_**Of course I am. **_Kui scoffed. _**When am I not ready? **_

"Arrogance leads to failure. You know who taught me that? You." Moro countered.

_**Shut up.**_

"Love you too, buddy. Now, let's go!"

Without a second order, Kui started sprinting through the trees, practically flying across the ground. Moro kept one hand gripping the fur on the back of his neck, while in the other she held a spear. Her knife was attached to her belt.

They soon reached the Earth Kingdom colony. The shouting could be heard from kilometres away. "IT'S THE WOLF PRINCESS!" The firebenders started blasting fist fulls of fire at her, a few of them shooting so close they could have burned off the skin of her teeth if they had been any closer.

Kui raced along the forest floor, with his rider raising her spear into the air. Kui then skidded to a halt, making Moro fly off his back, through the air, over the wall of the colony, and land directly in front of a few soldiers. They wasted no time in attacking her, and Moro swung her spear at them like a bat. That knocked them off their feet and slamming into the wall. She smirked, and sprinted off into the other direction, leaping gracefully from roof to roof. She heard shouts from beneath her, but ignored them. She leapt from the roof down to the ground, whipping out her knife and abandoning her spear. She noticed a boy - probably her age, maybe a year older - with a twig in his mouth standing in front of her. She wasted no time lunging for him, and he looked startled, quickly raising his own weapons. They were hook swords. Useful, but not always the best.

"I don't want to fight you!" He yelled, blocking her attacks. He didn't make any blows himself, and Moro realized that he was telling the truth. She stopped her attack, slashed her knife back and forth, and leapt backwards. Then she darted down another alleyway.

~~Water~~

Of course, what I failed to know until later was that the boy had been Jet. He had been attacking the village as well, trying to get rid of the soldiers head on. Not like he does now.

Anyway, I don't feel like going into the entire fight. I'll give you the short version - I lost, and I ended up burned. Kui found me, and we ran off. Only to find that our little home - a meadow not to far away from the village - had been burned to ashes.

The Fire Nation didn't care who they hurt. All they knew was that they had to win, or they would be destroyed. It makes sense when you think about it. If they did win, they would be the rulers of the world, but with subjects that didn't love them. If they lost, the other Nations would destroy them, to take revenge for the Air Nomads and their losses in the war. Either way, they would lose. Who would want to rule the world if their people didn't love them?

So Kui and I ended up just wandering through the forest, no place to go. We could have stayed anywhere, but the soldiers were all over the place. They would have found us.

Eventually, I passed out because of my burns. When I woke up, I was... somewhere else.

~~Water~~

Moro's eyes snapped open. First, she made sure she had her knife. Then, she tried to figure out where the hell she was.

Her instincts took over when she saw a pair of big green eyes staring at her. Her knife slashed up, nearly cutting the person across the eye. Moro leapt to her feet, and started slashing her knife back and forth, pushing the person back. It was a girl, she realized. A very green girl.

"Wait!" The girl yelled. "Stop!"

Moro didn't stop, and she darted past the girl and out the door. She pushed past the curtain... and came face to face with the boy from earlier.

"Looks like she finally decided to grace us with her presence, huh, Amaya." He said, grinning at the girl behind Moro.

'Amaya' shot him a dirty look. "She nearly took my eye out, Jet. Thanks so much for coming _now_."

"Stop exaggerating." Jet said dismissively, waving his hand.

Moro stood, not moving a muscle. It seemed like her courage decided to fail her at that moment, and she couldn't find the will to move.

Twig-boy, what Moro had decided to call him - Jet was a stupid name - suddenly smiled down at her. "Hey." He said calmly. If Moro had been another teenage girl, she would have swooned at his smile and the sound of his voice.

Too bad for him, Moro wasn't another teenage girl.

"Where the hell am I?!" She demanded, breaking out of her stiffness and putting the edge of her knife against Twig-boy's neck. He looked startled, and she heard Amaya give a panicked squeak from behind her.

"You're in our hideout." He said, losing all of his coolness and replacing it with a small sense of fear. Smart boy. "With the Freedom Fighters. I saw you pass out last night, so I brought you here. Amaya's been healing all your injuries all night."

It was then Moro realized all her burns were gone. She looked at the green eyed girl, not removing her knife from Twig-boy's neck. "Really?"

Amaya nodded. Moro realized that she - Moro, the never smiling one - had started to smile. "Thanks. I owe you."

Amaya smiled back. "Your wolf has been going crazy. Sneers wanted to lock him in a cage or something. But we didn't do that." She added, seeing Moro's furious expression. "We just let him be. I can't blame him for being worried. I thought I was going to lose you about a hundred times last night."

Moro glanced back at Jet - she still had her knife at his neck, by the way - and he nodded as much as he could, so he wouldn't cut his own throat.

"So, what's your name?" Amaya said. She came forward, and without Moro realizing it, she lowered the knife.

Moro didn't say a word for a moment. When was the last time she had told a human her name? "Moro."

~~Water~~

"And ever since, I've been with the Freedom Fighters. Until now, of course." Moro finished her tale. The fire was dying out slowly.

Tora was silent for a moment, before she turned to the waterbender. "So, what's your story?"

Amaya gave a small smile. "It's not as complicated as Moro's is."

"I still want to know!" Tora exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "I'm curious! Can you blame me?!"

"Well, first of all you should know that I'm not from the Water Tribe. The real ones, anyway." Amaya explained. "I'm from a... swamp." She said the last word with an air of embarrassment. "The Foggy Swamp Tribe is my home. It's a very large swamp. Hardly any humans dare to enter it, because in the swamp... things aren't normal."

"What is normal?" Tora countered.

"No, I mean, really not normal. Like, creepy not normal."

"Give us an example." Moro said.

"Well, half the time you feel like you're being watched. Then, you start seeing these weird visions. And there are all these weird glow in the dark flies and stuff, and there's this bird that migrates down there every spring, but it makes a noise like a cat is being strangled, but magnified at least a million times. And-"

"Okay, we get it."

"Anyway, I grew up there until I was seven. Then, my parents moved to a small colony in the Earth Kingdom. That was where I met Jet."

~~Water~~

"You're such a baby, Jet!" Amaya teased. She didn't look that different from how she looked as a sixteen year old. As a seven year old, her curly hair was in pigtails, with a few curls breaking free from her ribbons, and she was wearing a white dress that reached her knees and was normal looking.

"Am not!" Jet yelled at her.

"Are so!"

"Am not!"

"Are so!"

"Am not!"

"Am not!"

"Are so! Wait..."

"HA! I WIN!"

"Oh, shut up." Jet grumbled, but he was smiling. "C'mon, let's go exploring!" He grabbed the girl's hand, not noticing her faint blush, and dragged her toward the river.

"Bet I can find a snake-frog." Jet said to her.

"Bet I can find a bigger one!"

"Bet I can find one faster!"

"Can not!"

"Can so!"

And the race was on. Amaya quickly got down on her knees and started searching through the mud and the water for the creature they desired. Jet walked farther down, so if there was one, Amaya wouldn't see it.

He soon found one. It was mating season, after all, and there were more snake-frogs than usual. He decided not to say anything, but he walked toward her, holding the creature behind his back. Amaya wasn't looking at him.

"Did you find one yet?" He asked, attempting to sound innocent. He was a good liar, even then.

"No." Amaya sighed, sounding disappointed. "But it wasn't a total loss! I found something!"

"What?" Jet asked, confused. This time he wasn't acting.

"THIS!" Amaya whirled around and held... _something_ up to his face. It had large glassy eyes, with warts spread around it. It was sort of the color of vomit, and Jet had absolutely no idea what is was.

So, he freaked out. His hands flew into the air, he let out a girlish scream, the snake-frog flew from his hands and landed near Amaya, and he fell backwards. He wasn't the only one who had freaked out though. As soon as the snake-frog hit the ground, Amaya realized how scary they looked up close. She stared at it in terror for a moment. It finally let out a "croak", and she let out a bloodcurdling scream. She fell on the ground near Jet, but the thing she had caught was still in her hands. Jet started screaming even louder as Amaya attempted to grab him to protect her from the snake-frog, which in turn was making Amaya scream louder as the snake-frog hopped toward her.

It was soon a vicious cycle of screaming. The snake-frog would hop closer to Amaya, making her scream, and she would attempt to grab hold of Jet, only succeeding in making the thing her hands closer to him, and he would scream even louder than her. Eventually, Amaya realized this, and threw the thing in her hands back into the river, while Jet kicked the snake-frog away from them.

_Crazy humans. _The snake-frog thought as he flew through the air, before it hit the water and swam as far away from the kids as possible.

"_... What was that thing?" _Jet gasped out, staring at where the Thing had disappeared into the water.

"I don't know! I just found it!" Amaya squeaked out, not releasing her grip on Jet's wrist.

It would be a small event that they would both remember for the rest of their life.

~~Water~~

_That is so adorable!_

Shut up, Tora!

_You're blushing._

Shut up, Moro! Anyway, as you know, the Fire Nation attacked when Jet and I were eight. That was the day that Jet changed for the worse.

~~Water~~

The flames were everywhere. Nowhere to escape. Jet clung to Amaya, and Amaya clung to Jet as they watched their houses go up in flames. The only thing Amaya had managed to grab before the soldiers had reached them was a small little teddy platypus bear. She was clutching it against her chest with one hand, while the other hand clutched Jet's hand.

Just barely half an hour before, this group of warriors had stormed into the village on komodo-rhinos. They were all really scary looking, something Amaya had noticed the first second she had seen them. Then, when everyone had attempted to get out the village, the firebender of the group had caused flames to go up all around the village, saying, "We claim this village for Fire Lord Ozai." No one could escape.

Then, one of them had come into Jet's house, where Jet, his parents, and Amaya and her parents were all hiding. When the parents had attempted to shield the kids from the guy, he had simply stabbed them using his Guan Dao. Then, he attempted to do the same to the kids, but Jet had quickly picked up his father's hook swords, attacked the guy, giving Amaya time to escape.

But Amaya refused to move. Instead, she quickly pulled a dagger from her father's hands, lunged forward toward the guy, and stabbed him in the leg. He fell to the ground, both from the surprise that a girl that was a quarter of his size had managed to attack him, and from the dagger that was now embedded in his leg.

Amaya grabbed Jet's hand and pulled him out the door, using her other hand to grab her teddy platypus bear.

"You... stabbed him... in the leg..." Jet sounded so shocked, it would have made Amaya laugh if they had been anywhere but where they currently were.

"Yeah, don't talk, we're surrounded by smoke!" She yelled at him, yanking him along.

~~Water~~

An hour later, we had escaped from the village... but our families were dead. Jet and my teddy bear were the only things I had left. The only things Jet had left was me and his hook swords. That's why he loves them so much. They were his father's.

~~Water~~

Jet held onto Amaya, her body shaking with her hard sobs. Tears were flowing down her face like a waterfall and splattering against him constantly. He was crying too, despite his attempts not too. He had to stay strong - for her. For Amaya. For the only friend he had left in the world.

That was the day Jet changed.

~~Water~~

"After that, Jet and I became inseparable. More inseparable than we had been before. If anyone messed with me, they messed with Jet. I learned how to heal when my hands were wet and I had my hands over a cut that Jet had gotten from some jerk who tried to grab me. I became the best healer to ever come from the Foggy Swamp. Eventually, we met Smellerbee and Longshot, and they joined our family. Then, as we started meeting more people like us - people whose lives had been destroyed by the Fire Nation - and we created the Freedom Fighters. We made the hideout, and the rest is history." Amaya finished softly.

She looked up at them with a look of sadness on her face. "That's why I have to go back - to Jet."

"What?!" Tora yelled, jumping to her feet. Moro looked shocked as well. "He tried to kill you!"

"Moro said that he didn't know I was with you when he made the signal." Amaya said stubbornly. "If I don't go back - if I don't show Jet that I'm still alive - he'll think he's lost the only person that he truly had left because of his own actions." She looked at them. "Maybe this can change Jet for the better. I can make him into the person he was before."

The other girls stared at the healer for a long time, before Tora finally sat back down. "Fine. That doesn't mean I have to be happy about it." She said, crossing her arms.

Amaya cracked a grin. She realized that she was crying a little, and quickly wiped the tears away from her face. "I should go now." She got to her feet. "I'll miss you both. I hope we can meet again."

"We will." Tora said, getting up as well. Moro followed her. "I'm sure of it."

Amaya grinned, and hugged both of the girls. They all were completely silent as they hugged, Amaya because she didn't want to ruin the moment, Moro from the awkwardness of being in the middle of the hug, and Tora from the memories of it all.

_Just like with dad. Hugged me and walked away. Just like him..._

When they all finally let go, Amaya gave them a smile, waved and walked off. This left Tora and Moro alone.

"I should go too." Tora said, turning to the Wolf Girl. "The gang think I'm dead. I have to get to them fast."

Moro nodded. "I understand. You can ride on Kui until you get to the edge of the forest. Cut two days of walking in half."

Tora smiled. "Thanks." She turned to the white wolf, who was on his feet. The other two wolves were watching her.

_**Let's go.**_

Tora got onto Kui, gave a goodbye signal to Moro, and she disappeared into the forest.

Moro sighed and sat back down. "Things are going to be boring now, aren't they?"

~~Water~~

Everyone understood: Jet needed to be left alone. If the aura he was giving off wasn't enough, the look on his face told everyone clearly that if they didn't want to have their heads bitten off, they should leave Jet alone. Even the ones who wanted their heads bitten off left Jet alone.

So there he was, sitting on the long branch of a tree, the twig finally absent from his mouth.

Amaya was dead. He couldn't believe it. She was dead because of him. If he hadn't been so obsessed with killing the soldiers, she'd still be alive. He didn't really care about Tora. She deserved to die.

_Stop thinking that! It's that kind of thinking that killed Amaya! _His mind screamed at him. He agreed. It was that kind of thinking that killed his best friend... the only real person he had left from his old life. When he had been Jet, not Jet's older shell. He didn't feel like himself anymore. He felt like a murderer.

That was what he was, essentially.

He was snapped out of his brooding when he heard someone call his name. "Jet?"

He was insane. Because for a moment, he thought it had been Amaya who said his name.

He heard it again. "Jet..."

_Okay, Spirits, I get it, I'm a bastard, now cut it out. I feel bad enough already._

"Jet, I can see your swords."

"Okay, now it's not funny." Jet declared, finally jumping off the branch and onto the ground below. He came face to face with "Amaya". She smiled when she saw him.

"I've had enough."

Her face fell, and she gave him a confused look.

"It's bad enough to realize that I've been complete bastard for the past couple of years. But now the Spirits are rubbing it in my face that I killed my best friend?" He continued.

"Amaya"'s face became a look of realization. "Jet, I'm not-"

"I killed her. I get it. I don't need to be reminded. Okay, Spirits? Now make her go away. Erase my memory, or something, because_ I can't deal with this right now_!" He yelled, his voice cracking on the last word.

"Jet, I'm not dead." She said gently. She reached out and tried to take his hand, but he pulled away at the last second and turned away from her.

"Don't lie! I saw it - she couldn't possibly have survived that. I'm going to turn around now, and you'll be gone." He waited for a second, before he finally did turn around. He was surprised when he saw her still standing there, smiling at him. "What are you waiting for? Disappear!" He yelled.

"Jet, I'm not dead." "Amaya" repeated, walking over to him. "I survived. And I came back."

"Why?" Jet demanded, not understanding. "Why did you come back? You didn't have too. I nearly killed you. I wouldn't blame you if you hadn't come back."

Amaya rolled her eyes. "Because, Jetty, other than the fact that you're a moron that wouldn't survive without me, you're my best friend. Through thick and thin." She took his hand, and he realized that she was telling the truth. She was solid.

She was real.

Several different emotions burst into him all at once. He decided to channel them out through a hug. Amaya tensed up for a moment, startled at his display of affection, but finally returned the hug.

"I'm sorry." He said, not letting her go. "It's all my fault. You were right - I'm so sorry."

"Jetty..." She whispered, rubbing his back, like she always did.

"I'll change." He promised, finally letting go. He held her by her shoulders at arms length. "I promise. I'll change. Just... stay."

Amaya looked at him sternly. "Promise?"

Jet nodded. "I promise."

She held out her hand, extending her pinky finger. "Pinky swear?"

They locked pinkies. "Pinkie swear."

**Not the best chapter ending, I know. Tora will become the main character again next chapter.**

**Mwahahaha. Out of character Jet. **

**Sorry, I just had to show you what happened between Amaya and Jet at the end. **

**So, now everything goes back to normal. No talking wolves, no references, no nothing like that. Sort of. Okay?**

**Please review. Reviews are good for self confidence. Pwetty pwetty pwease?**

Songs for this chapter:

Moro's story - Mulan's Decision (from _Mulan_, the original version that isn't in the movie.)

Amaya's story - Dragon Boy (from _Spirited Away_.)

Amaya/Jet couple song (for those of you who think they secretly like each other) - Always With Me (from _Spirited Away._)


	19. Another Author's note (Sorry)

Author's note

So basically what's been happening is I've had a few people, mostly Guests, telling me Tora is a mary-sue because she

1. an bend two elements (even though she's not the Avatar)

2. doesn't have any flaws

3. kills stuff but feels sorry for them.

4. can bend two elements (what? I mentioned that already? Well, that's mostly what people have to complain about.)

Mostly, it's the bending two elements thing.

I'm not going to insult those people for what they think. Why? Because I'm nice. Other people might insult those people for saying that, but I'm not going to. Those people are either just being mean, OR they want Tora to become a better character and not a Mary Sue.

Anyway, I'll respond to you here. They're guests, so I don't know if they're different people or what, but I'm just going to respond to them as Guest 1 and Guest 2 and Guest 3 and so on.

Guest 1 -

Yes, I know Tora can bend more than one element. If I was worried about her being called a mary sue because of it, I wouldn't have her bend two elements. BUT I have an idea for later. I've had it for a while. I'm not going to tell anybody what it is, but I have an idea. Okay? Okay.

Guest 2

First, see reply above.

Second, she feels sorry for animals she kills because she doesn't like killing, BUT she knows that the tribe need to eat them to survive. So she has to kill them, but that doesn't mean she has to like it. She would prefer if someone else could, but seeing as Sokka is not the best fisherman, and Katara would probably get a little squeamish, and the rest of the village is just women and children and Gran-Gran, means she has too.

Third - She doesn't have any flaws. Though they may not be obvious in the story, she does have flaws. Still working on that... can't really blame you for that one.

Guest 3

You didn't really insult me... unless you were and you're just really bad at it.

Anyway, Aang never really said whether or not he knew about the Avatar State. Aang doesn't say if he knew about the Avatar State before or after he became the Avatar. It was just a fact to him. It seems like he didn't know about it, but it doesn't say whether or not he did or didn't.

Tora didn't teach Katara some of the tricks because...

Walking on water - why would you need to know how to walk on water in the South Pole?

Waterbending bomb - It makes more sense for a person in the Fire Nation (a really hot place) to know how to do a waterbending bomb (something that involves jumping into water from a height) than someone from the South Pole (a really really really cold place) to know how to do it. Why would Katara want to learn a move that involves jumping into water? The water is like, seriously freezing in the South Pole, so that's one thing. Another thing is that, I'm assuming that if Katara wore all those layers when she jumped she would get dragged underwater because of the weight. She would have to remove all those layers, and since they're in the SOUTH POLE, that wouldn't be so smart.

Other tricks - Does it really say that Tora didn't teach Katara those moves? Hmm. Well, if it didn't say that, Tora did teach Katara those moves. Katara just doesn't use them that often.

And People, I KNOW that only the Avatar can bend more than one element! But it's FANFICTION. Fiction is the key word. It's not real. I can do what I want. I'm not saying I don't expect criticism, but I can do what I want.

Really, those are all the things Guests had to complain about. If I embarrassed you, I apologize, but I needed to reply to you, and since you're guests, I couldn't just Private Message you.


	20. Zuko Is Called Names

**Zuko is Called Names**

**Won't give too much away... but Tora is the main character again. **

**Disclaimer: I only own Tora, Moro, Amaya, Kui, Fenris, and Accalia. Unfortunately, nobody except Tora will be appearing for a while... so sad. T_T**

Zuko groaned in annoyance as his uncle raced from stall to stall, looking like a kid in a candy store. Iroh was currently looking for a replacement lotus tile, to replace the one Zuko had tossed over the waterfall a few days ago. They were in a seedy looking Earth Kingdom town, full of tough looking guys with tattoos and earrings and teeth missing giving them funny looks and glares.

"I found it!" Iroh suddenly yelled, sounding more triumphant than he should have. "They have a Lotus tile in stock!" He ran over to the banished prince of the Fire Nation. "I need two gold coins."

Zuko held in his groan this time, and handed over the coins. Iroh ran back to the stall, conversed with the owner for a minute or two, before he finally came back, looking proud of himself.

"Can we go _now?_"

Iroh shook his head, and Zuko let out a yell of frustration. "WHY NOT?" Iroh simply pointed behind Zuko. Zuko turned, and saw what his uncle had been pointing at.

Standing a distance away from them, looking through the scrolls at a stall, was the Fire Nation girl that had been travelling with the Avatar.

His golden eyes widened for a moment, before they narrowed. "I see."

~~Water~~

**Tora's Point of View**

"What do you mean, you don't have any money? What good are you to me?!" The vendor yelled at me. He was a crabby old guy, with brown eyes and thin hair combed over his larger than average bald spot, and with a potbelly. He was kinda gross looking.

"You need an attitude adjustment." I snapped. "I'm just looking! There's no law against that!"

"It's called loitering!"

"It's called _browsing_."

Wow. His face could get_ red_. I mean, like Fire Nation red.

"JUST GO BOTHER SOMEONE ELSE, WILL YOU?!" He finally lost his temper, snatching the scroll from my hands. I was seriously tempted to roast him.

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" I yelled, walking away. "Jeez..." I grumbled to myself.

It had been a few days - maybe a week, I wasn't good at keeping time - since my separation from the others. Kui had gone back to Moro as soon as I left the forest that held the Freedom Fighters. Ever since, I had been heading north, following various reports of a large monster with six legs and an arrow on it's head, while taking various jobs so I could buy food and stay alive. I would have bought a new sword, but I knew it wouldn't have the same feel as mine did. I hoped that I would find it. Or maybe make a new one. I'd rather not do that, though. Maybe whoever wants Katara to find her necklace will help me find my sword...

I was so lost in my thoughts I didn't even notice I was about to run into someone until I ran into them. "Sorry." I said immediately, not even looking up. I felt someone grab my wrists before I could get away, and I realized that I had run into something hard. I looked up, and was immediately met with the awful sight of pale skin, gold eyes, and an angry red scar.

"Zuko." I cursed myself silently. Zuko didn't say anything, but he started dragging me somewhere. "Hey, let go!" I yelled, pulling the other way.

"No!"

I narrowed my eyes. My skin started heating up, and soon I was practically on fire. Zuko let out a yell and let go, and I sprinted off in the opposite direction. I heard Zuko yelling after me as I ran away, and when I turned a corner, the worst possible thing that could happen did happen.

I tripped. _Agni damn it all!_

I started cursing myself in every possible way, in all the languages I knew. As soon as I hit the ground, I was up again, but Zuko had caught up with me and grabbed me by the waist, slinging me over his shoulder. I started kicking wildly and pounding on his back, but all that did was make my hand hurt whenever I hit his armour. _Does he ever take it off?_

Out loud, I yelled, "LET ME GO! YOU BASTARD! YOU SCUM! YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU-" I started calling him other names that were... less "polite".

"Watch your language." He snapped.

"_YOU_ WATCH WHERE YOU PUT YOUR HANDS, AND _I'LL _WATCH MY LANGUAGE!"

"Let's go, uncle."

"I'LL MAKE YOU _HOLLER _UNCLE!"

"Zuko, you really shouldn't be doing that."

"Uncle, the Avatar is too far away by this point for me to catch up. The girl's my only way of finding him."

"I SWEAR, IF YOU DON'T PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW, I'M GOING TO WATERBEND YOU OUT OF EXISTENCE! AND THEN I'M GONNA ROAST YOU TO A CRISP! AND THEN-" My threats weren't heeded, as Zuko continued on his way to his ship. I would have firebended at him, except with his fire-proof armour, I would have to find a chink in his armour to hurt him. And in the position I was in, I couldn't really do that. I seriously wished I had some water with me. Or that someone would help out. But from the looks of this town, this kind of thing was normal.

Finally, we had reached Zuko's ship. He walked up the gangplank, with me kicking and fighting the whole way, while Iroh walked behind us, shooting me apologetic looks. When we reached the deck, Zuko pulled me off his shoulder, and immediately I was fireblasting at him. He blocked all of the blasts, and waved for some soldiers to grab me. Two soldiers came over and grabbed me by the wrists, so I couldn't bend.

"Take her to my room." Zuko ordered. I was having the weirdest feeling of _deja vu. _

Only this time, Aang didn't come to save me.

I sat on Zuko's bed, with a disgusted look on my face, and my arms crossed over my chest. I didn't know what Zuko wanted from me, but I wouldn't do it. Whatever it was.

He came in a few minutes later. I glared at him. He glared back. "What, no fighting? Finally learned your place?"

I glared again. "Hardly."

Zuko scowled. Someone else would have been scared of him, what with his scar and the angry scowl. I wasn't. He didn't scare me. "Let's get right to it. _Where is he_?"

"Where's who?" I asked innocently. He wasn't getting anything out of me.

"You know who!" **(You-know-who! Ha! I didn't even plan that!)**

"No, I don't know who."

"Him!"

"Him who?"

"You know! Him!"

"How can I know him if I don't know him?"

"THE AVATAR!" He finally yelled, losing his patience (not that he had any to begin with). Flames exploded from his mouth and hands, steam literally shooting from his ears.

"You mean Aang?"

"YES!"

I shrugged. "Don't know." And I was telling the truth.

Zuko didn't believe me. "Don't lie to me! Where is he?!"

"I'm serious. I don't know." I said clearly and slowly, as if Zuko was too dumb to understand me. Which he kinda was. "They think I'm dead. They left without me. I don't know where they are."

Zuko glared at me for a minute. "I don't believe you."

"And I _really _couldn't care less what you believe."

"You must know where he's headed at least." Zuko said, trying to pry the information out of me.

I tossed my hair over my shoulder. "The North Pole."

"But that's miles from here!" Zuko exclaimed. "It would take weeks to get there! You couldn't get there without stopping!"

"That's where they're heading. I don't know where they are right now. You didn't ask that."

Zuko's face got even redder than that scroll seller's. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!"

"THE FEELING'S MUTUAL!" I yelled back, getting to my feet. "NOW LET ME GO!"

"No. You'll stay here on my ship. You'll be my bait." Zuko said, crossing his arms.

"I can't be bait for someone who thinks I'm dead! Idiot!"

"Don't call me an idiot!"

"IDIOT! MORON! BASTARD! … VAMPIRE!"

"SHUT UP!" He threw open his door. "GUARDS!" Two guys with the skull masks came into the room, and Zuko gestured at me. "Get her out of my sight! Take her to the brig!"

"Idiot!" I half-sang as the soldiers pulled me out of his room. I felt pride when the candles in the room exploded and almost burned down the Fire Nation tapestry on the wall. Zuko let out a yelp and started extinguishing the flames. We soon reached the brig, and I walked inside. The walls were completely flat and made of metal, and the only thing that looked remotely "homey" was a block of metal that was raised out of the floor in the corner of the room.

"I'll have someone bring you a blanket. It get's cold at night." The soldier said. I turned and smiled at them. "Thanks."

With a crash, the door slammed shut, and I was left alone in the darkness. I heated up a flame in the palm of my hand, giving off an orangish glow that filled the whole room.

"Come on, Tora. Look on the bright side. You don't have to deal with paying for motel rooms anymore. You don't have to worry about getting enough money for food, or getting caught when you steal food." I told myself.

It sounded lame, even to myself.

I was trapped.

The only bright side?

Zuko's stubbornness would be what brought me back to the others.

~~Water~~

I had been taking a nap when Iroh came in. My arm was covering my eyes, and my knees were bent since the bed was too short for me to stretch out. So it was very uncomfortable. When I heard the door open, I lifted my arm off my face and turned my head to the side to see who had come in. When I saw that it was Iroh, I quickly swung my legs over the side of the bed and sat up.

"Hey, Iroh." I greeted him. He didn't deserve any of my hatred. And he was carrying a blanket, which I assumed was meant for me, so I didn't want to anger him too much.

"Tora. It's been a long time." He said, smiling. I smiled back. "But what were you doing with the Water Tribe? Where's your father?"

I grimaced. I didn't want to talk about that - especially not here. "Haven't you heard?"

The Dragon of The West shook his head. "I haven't had contact with any of the Order in three years."

Of course. That meant I would have the _honour_ of telling him. "Well, the two other old guys - Pakku and Jeong Jeong - thought I was "distracting my father from his duties to the Order"," I made the quotation marks with my fingers for the last part. "So they banished me from my own home to the Southern Water Tribe. And now I'm here!" I finished, tossing my arms wide. Iroh's eyes were wide. He came over to me and pulled me off the bed.

"This is certainly not a suitable room for a young lady!" He said. "We should find you a better one. After all, you're going to be with us for a while."

To be honest, I didn't know what the difference was between the cell I took a nap in and the other rooms - at least, until I saw my new room. It looked a lot like Zuko's room, with an actual bed, but less... dark.

"Wow." I was being completely honest when I said this. When was the last time I had actually gotten to go to sleep in an actual bed? I think a few weeks ago... after the Spirit world fiasco. "Thanks, Iroh." I suddenly grinned. "Zuko won't be happy about this."

Iroh laughed. "My nephew should really be more considerate to our guest. I'm sure he won't mind."

I grinned at him. "So, what do you do around here, anyway? Besides chase down the Avatar and train." I asked, flopping down on the mattress.

Iroh's eyes lit up. "Music night!"

"What?"

"Music night! Everybody sings a song or plays an instrument or dances! It's fun!"

I was silent. "Everybody?"

"Everybody!"

"Even Zuko?"

"He plays the tsungi horn especially well!"

An evil grin started to spread across my face. "When's the next music night?"

"We have one every two or three weeks. So the next one is next Friday, I believe."

_This is going to be__** fun.**_

~~Water~~

Zuko minded. He practically exploded when he heard his uncle had given the "Enemy" a room. Of course, Iroh said that it wasn't proper for a "young lady" like me to be sleeping in the brig. Then he said something about Zuko needing to drink more tea and to be less stressed out.

**Yeah, yeah, lame chapter ending, I know. But it's just giving you the rundown of what's going to be going on for the next few chapters. **

**Iroh's fun to write. Of course, I might not be keeping him in character... tell me if you think anybody is out of character, okay?**

Songs for this chapter -

Kicking and Screaming - Miley Cyrus (don't look at me like that! It's a good song!)


	21. In The Moonlight I Felt Your Heart

**In the Moonlight I Felt Your Heart**

**That's right. I'm alive. And I have a new chapter for you all. Sorry about the wait. It was mostly a combination of something called "real life" and "I'm getting into my other two stories". **

**WOAH! I AM OUT FOR THE SUMMER! THAT'S AWESOME! TWO WHOLE MONTHS, AND HALF A MONTH IF YOU INCLUDE JUNE! SO TWO AND A HALF MONTHS OF NOTHING BUT UPDATING AND VACATIONING! YEAH!**

**Sorry for that little outburst. BUT IT'S TRUE! I AM OUT FOR THE SUMMER! And what makes it even better is that my sister has three more weeks. Is that mean? Well, I don't care, because it's true! So I decided to update all my stories today, since it's the last day I'll have school for two and a half months. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own Avatar, only own Tora and the OC's that are featured in this story.**

My schedule for the next few days was relatively the same.

At six in the morning (the morning is _evil_) I'm woken up by Zuko. This is a rather rude awakening, as he just roughly shakes me awake and says, "Get up." I tell him to get out, and he says that since it's his ship, he can do what he wants. But he leaves anyway.

Three minutes later, I fall asleep again.

Seven minutes after that, Zuko comes in again, wakes me up again, and then leaves so I can get dressed. One time, he walked in on me, and I didn't have a shirt on. He left the room with a bright red mark on his face, to put it simply enough.

After spending more than half an hour to get dressed, I come to breakfast, and after deliberately spending forty minutes eating breakfast and making pleasant conversation with some of the other men on the ship, I am dragged to Zuko's room for questioning.

For an entire hour, I am asked incredibly stupid questions by Zuko. Even though I made it very clear that I had no idea where the others were, Zuko continued asking me questions. Things like how I could bend two elements, why I was with the Water Tribe, why wasn't I in the Fire Nation, things like that. I refused to answer him. They were completely personal questions and he had no business knowing the answers.

~~Water~~

"If you tell me how you got your scar, I'll tell you how I ended up in the Water Tribe." I said stubbornly. Zuko's face instantly turned a furious red, and he said, "THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, YOU PEASANT!"

"WELL, IT'S NOT YOUR BUSINESS WHY I WAS IN THE SOUTH POLE, SO YOU CAN TAKE YOUR QUESTIONS AND SHOVE THEM UP YOUR-" Before I could finish my sentence, Iroh came into the room.

"Prince Zuko, I think that Tora's questioning is done for today." He said calmly. I glared at Zuko. He glared right back, but didn't argue with his uncle.

~~Water~~

"Uncle!" Zuko yelled, barging into the control room (where the captain steered the ship). He stopped and stared at me and Iroh's Pai Sho game. His eyes narrowed as soon as he saw us playing. "What are you doing?"

"Playing Pai Sho." Iroh replied, not taking his eyes off the game board. He set down one of his white jade tiles, creating disharmony with one of the rhododendron tiles I had set down earlier. I cursed under my breath, before realizing I had set down a lily tile. I set down a jasmine tile.

"NO!" Katsu yelled. Katsu was one of the soldiers that lived on the boat. He had been one of the soldiers that wore the skull masks and that escorted me to the brig when I first got here.

Many of the soldiers were surrounding us, watching me and Iroh play. Apparently, I was the only person that managed to match Iroh's skill in the game, so now whenever there was a game going on between us, everyone would either bet on me or Iroh. The reason Katsu had shouted "no" was because he had bet on Iroh. If he lost, he - along with half of the soldiers on the ship - owed the other half the people on the ship thirty gold coins. In total. How they were going to split it up evenly between them, I had no idea.

"Why?" Zuko sounded so dumbfounded I nearly laughed.

"Because it is a fun game that deserves to be played." Iroh finally took his eyes off the board and looked up at his nephew. I debated internally whether or not to move one of his tiles. I decided not too, since there were bound to be people who would rat me out. "Would you like to play next? You can play whoever wins."

"No! I need to interrogate the girl!"

"I have a name, you know." I said, looking up at him. "It's Tora."

Zuko looked startled that I had said something to him that wasn't sarcastic, a swear word, an insult, or anything else that would offend him. He got over it quickly. "I know your name! You don't have to tell me what it is!"

"If you know what my name is, then start using it." I moved my gaze back to the board. To be honest, I was a little tired of fighting with him all the time. If he wasn't so obnoxious and rude and boorish and pig-headed - you know what, scratch that. He deserves to be fought with, even if I was getting tired of doing it.

Zuko scowled and stormed out again. After placing a few more tiles on the board, the game was over, and it was time for the points to be counted up. The soldiers were all tense, waiting to see the outcome of the game - and more importantly, who would get thirty gold coins and who would owe half the ship thirty gold coins. Ryuu, another skull-helmet soldier, counted up the points to make sure no one would cheat.

"Hmmm." Ryuu started rubbing his chin as he stared at the board. "Tora has created about thirty harmonies. But Iroh has also made five disharmonies, so she only has twenty-five points now."

Half of the people in the room groaned.

"And Iroh has made thirty-five harmonies." This caused another half of the ship to groan even louder than the first half did. "But Tora, it seems, is a very good strategist, and has caused..." Ryuu quickly counted. "One, two, three, four... Ten disharmonies! It's a tie!"

Everyone in the room instantly groaned. Iroh and I both laughed. "Who would like to play now?" The Dragon of the West asked as I stood up and moved to a different seat. Instantly, Lieutenant Jee slid into the seat, and the game began again.

"Iroh, do you like the idea of the Avatar being captured?" I asked suddenly.

Iroh was silent for a moment, before he responded. "No, I do not, Tora. The Avatar is a twelve year old boy. And if the Fire Lord gets a hold of him, the world will be destroyed."

I shuddered at the idea of Aang, the sweetest boy in the Earth Kingdom - assuming they were still in the Earth Kingdom, if not above it - being captured and brought to Ozai.

I glanced at the others. "What about you guys? What do you think?"

They all shifted, looking uncomfortable. I knew what they were thinking. Even Sokka could have figured it out.

They were Fire Nation, through and through. They were on the winning side of the war. (Yes, the Fire Nation was winning. Nobody liked to admit it, but it was the truth, and we all knew it. Of course, that didn't mean that they _would_ win.) So of course they thought that the Avatar being brought to the Fire Lord and destroyed was the best thing. But at the same time, they didn't want to go against Iroh's thoughts. That was how much they all respected him. Or maybe they didn't like the idea of Aang being captured anymore than I did. Maybe they knew that if the Avatar was captured and destroyed, the world would go up in flames. There would only be one nation - the Fire Nation. Maybe they knew that their families would live in a complete dystopia.

Or maybe they just didn't want _Zuko_ to be the one to capture him.

"Capturing the Avatar will let the Fire Lord finally win this war." Lieutenant Jee finally spoke their thoughts. I noticed how he didn't say whether or not he thought that winning the war was the best thing in the world.

I didn't let it bother me for too long. I turned back to Iroh. "If you don't like it, why do you stay with Zuko? Couldn't you have stayed in the Fire Nation?"

Iroh took his eyes off the board and looked at me. "My nephew needs guidance, Tora. If he didn't have guidance, then he would have been killed as soon as he started his journey. He needs a level headed person to keep himself from doing something reckless enough to kill himself." For a split second, I thought he had looked at me with a weird look in his eyes. Then the look was gone, and he was staring at the board again. _Must have imagined it. _"And," Iroh added. "There is nothing left for me back in the Fire Nation."

I had to agree with that. What was there? His brother was a complete bastard, his parents were both dead, his son was dead, his wife was dead, and he was considered by some people to be a disgrace to the Fire Nation. After all, he had given up on Ba Sing Se after his son died during the Six Hundred Day Siege of Ba Sing Se. Heartless bastards who don't know how to feel is what I call people who dare to call the _Dragon of the West_ a loser. He had lost his son, for Agni's sake!

Besides, I could see in the way Iroh acted that Zuko was like a son to him. There was no way he would let his son go around the world by himself. Although Zuko might not feel the same - or pretended not to - it seemed to me like he loved his uncle more than his father.

Considering who his father was, I couldn't blame him.

~~Water~~

As I lay in my bed that night, I stared at the ceiling, thinking to myself. I was just letting my thoughts wander, not really thinking of anything in particular.

_I wonder what the gang is doing right now..._ I thought. I had managed to avoid thinking about my friends during the day, but whenever I couldn't sleep, I couldn't help my thoughts from straying in their direction. _Probably sitting around the campfire, sleeping, or eating, or discussing the fastest way to get to the Water Tribe from wherever they are... _I sighed. I missed them. I couldn't wait 'till I joined them again. I wanted off this ship.

~~Water~~

Unknown to Tora at that moment, what she thought the gang was doing was in fact, _far _from what they were actually doing.

"A vermin, named Wei Jin, who looked at the orb with envy. That coward, Wei Jin, knocked Jin Wei to the ground and stole our sacred orb. Our people have never forgotten. You can never trust a Zhang."

"Instead of thanking him for his kind and selfless deed, they sentenced him to twenty long years in prison. We Zhang's will never forget that injustice."

"That's just _terrible_. You gonna finish that?"

~~Water~~

_Tomorrow, I'll ask Iroh about teaching me firebending... Zuko won't like that. _When I thought that, I smiled. Maybe I was getting tired of fighting with Zuko, but that didn't mean I couldn't enjoy it.

I let out a groan. I still wasn't tired. _Screw this. _I thought, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. _I need some air. _Iroh had managed to convince Zuko that I wouldn't need a lock on my door, since there wasn't any way that I would be able to escape the ship. Even if I did escape, there was no way I would be able to find the others. I had no idea where they were. And, if I got to the North Pole, at the rate I would be going, I wouldn't get there until spring. And by then, Aang would have mastered waterbending. Then I would have to go after them again.

But, Zuko had agreed with his uncle to not put a lock on my door on one condition - if we were anywhere near land, I would be locked in my room and under strict surveillance. But that night, we weren't anywhere near land, so my door wasn't locked. Lucky me.

So in a few minutes, I was standing by the ship's railing, staring up at the stars and the moon. It was a crescent moon tonight. Not as pretty as the full moon, but still beautiful.

I smiled to myself. It reminded me of a song that I had heard when I was younger. I don't remember who was singing it, but I remembered the lyrics. I didn't sing the song, but I hummed it to myself. Maybe I would sing it on music night.I wasn't even sure if I could sing. I had only sung to myself before, so I wasn't sure how my voice sounded. To me, it sounded sort of scratchy. But maybe to someone else, it would sound nice. I guess it depended on the person.

I shivered. It was getting cold, and I lit a small flame in the palm of my hand.

"What are _you _doing out here?"

The sound of Zuko's voice made me jump, and the flame extinguished. I whirled around and came face to face with him. I scowled. "None of your business."

"As long as you're on my ship, you'll follow my rules, and your business is my business." Zuko snapped.

I rolled my eyes. He sounded like a parent the way he talked. "I couldn't sleep. What about you?" I asked, not really expecting him to answer.

He surprised me. "I couldn't sleep either." He shrugged. I raised an eyebrow, mildly surprised. I never really thought about Zuko needing sleep. The way he acted, I never actually thought of him as_ human_ before.

"Come and join me on the railing?" I gestured to my side, and his eyes narrowed.

"How do I know you won't try something?" He asked cautiously. I rolled my eyes.

"Please. If anything, I should be asking you that."

"There's water right there." He pointed over the side of the ship.

"I'm not really in the mood for getting in a fight tonight." I shrugged. "So, temporary truce?" I offered.

His eyes narrowed even further, but he joined me by the railing nonetheless.

"So..." I started, not really sure if I should be trying to make conversation or what. "Nice stars, huh?" I offered awkwardly, pointing at the sky.

Zuko gave me an odd look, before responding. "Yeah. Shiny."

After a few more awkward moments of silence, it finally gets to me. "How did you get your scar?" I burst out in one breath. Then, seeing his face darken, I clamped a hand over my mouth. "I'm sorry. The quiet was getting to me." I apologized.

"It was a training accident." Zuko said shortly.

I blinked at him. "That's all?"

"Yes!"

"Then why was it such a big deal to tell me?"

"Because it was private!"

"Okay," I lifted my hands in surrender. "Moving on. Know any stories?"

Zuko stared at me blankly. "Stories?"

"Yeah, you know, to pass the time."

"You're still not tired?"

"Not even a little bit."

Zuko appeared to be thinking very hard. "Well..." He finally said, slowly. "I know this one story..."

"Tell it!" I said eagerly. "There's nothing better to do!"

Zuko gave me a look of impatience. "I have to remember it first!" After spending a few more minutes thinking, he finally began to spoke. _"My mother told me this story a long time ago. She said that it was a true story, one hundred percent real."_ He looked at me. "That's the beginning of the story."

"Okay, get on with it!"

"I would, if you'd stop interrupting me every two seconds! Anyway, here it goes." He took a deep breath, before he started speaking.

~~Water~~

_This was a time before the Avatar. When there were no benders. There were Diviners, and the Oracle. A full grown Diviner was as powerful as a full-fledged Avatar. _

~~Water~~

"What the hell is a Diviner?"

"I'm getting to that!"

~~Water~~

_Diviner's are considered now to be "magic-benders", "wizards", or "witches". But they are not any of these things. Magic-benders, wizards, and witches would be honoured to be compared to a Diviner. Diviner's have magic flowing through their veins. They are the very essence of magic. _

_The Oracle is not at all similar to the Avatar. The Oracle can not bend all four elements. The Oracle cannot bend even one element. But the Oracle is just as powerful as the Avatar. The Oracle is possibly even more powerful than the Avatar, but in a different way. The Avatar learns to bend all four elements so he or she can keep harmony in the world using their abilities._

_But the Oracle doesn't do this. The Oracle is blessed by the Spirits with dreams... dreams that understand everything. The Oracle is the wisest of us all, wiser than Wong Shi Tong, He Who Knows Ten Thousand Things. The Oracle tells prophecies, to let the Avatar know what is coming in the future. But the Oracle doesn't tell the Avatar how to stop the problem, for that is what the Avatar must figure out himself._

_They are the thing that keeps the Spirit World alive. Without them, the Spirit World would crumble and fall, leaving the world in chaos. Not even the Avatar could stop that chaos._

_One man did not know this. Fire Lord Zuko, the man I am named after. He was born thousands of thousands of years ago. He only understood the power that Diviner's and the Oracle held. He was frightened of the power they had. So, he decided to destroy them._

~~Water~~

"Wait, what?"

"He decided to destroy them. He made sure to ask the rulers of the other Nations, because at that time, all the Nations were ruled by one person."

"Well, what did they say?"

"The Earth King agreed with him, the Water Tribe Chief's were neutral. They didn't think that the Diviner's would attack, though they knew that if they did decide to attack, they would all be doomed. And the Air Nomads didn't agree."

"So, what happened?"

~~Water~~

_He destroyed them using the power of a massive shooting star, named Agni's Star, like how Fire Lord Sozin destroyed the Air Nomads using Sozin's Comet. Only a handful of Diviner's survived, but the Oracle died. Unlike the Avatar, the Oracle cannot be reborn. At least, that's what everyone thought at the time. But it turned out that the power of the Oracle is so massive, that it takes a century for the power to return to earth and find a host strong enough to have the power. Also, the Spirits must have time to mourn the loss of their Oracle, for the Oracle is more important to the world than the Avatar. The Oracle goes hand in hand with the Avatar. You cannot have one without the other. The Oracle was reborn a hundred years after the destruction of the Diviner's, into a member of the Earth Kingdom. She recreated the Spirit World, as it had weakened when the Diviner's had been almost destroyed. She brought peace to the world, something the Avatar was unable to do._

Zuko stopped talking, and I stared at him with wide eyes.

"And?" I asked, hoping for more.

"And what?" Zuko asked, looking confused.

"And then what happened?"

Zuko rubbed the back of his neck, looking mildly embarrassed. "That's the thing. I don't remember the rest of the story."

I gave him a look of complete disbelief. "You remembered everything else with incredible detail, and then you just leave me with a cliffhanger?"

"Yes."

I put my hand against my forehead. "Spirits help me."

"Okay, well do you have a story, smart girl?" He demanded, looking irritated.

"Please, I grew up in my father's library." I rolled my eyes. "I think I could remember a little fairy tale."

"Then give me one!"

"What?" I blinked, looking at him.

"I told you a story, now you have to tell me one!" Zuko looked even more irritated now.

"Let's see..." I put my chin in my hand, leaning against the railing. I thought of all the fairy tales and legends I had read and heard while I was growing up. There had been a lot of them. I had to think of one. "Oh, got one!" I cleared my throat, before beginning. Then I stopped.

"Wait, if the Avatar can't exist without the Oracle, then does that mean that the Oracle had died when Aang disappeared?"

Zuko stared at me blankly. "What?"

"Aang disappeared a hundred years ago." I explained. "So, I was wondering if that meant that the Oracle had died when Aang froze himself in that iceberg." I put my hand against my chin, thinking. "Hmmm."

"Okay, whatever, just tell me your story." Zuko interrupted my thoughts.

"Okay, impatient one." I rolled my eyes. "It all started a long, long, LONG time ago..."

~~Water~~

_A long, long time ago, the land was overrun by deep forests. Within these forests lived the Gods of old. _

_There was a child being born, in a city that is now known as Omashu. Back then, Omashu was nothing more than a farming village. This was before the benders colonized the Nations. This story takes place when benders were shunned as Demon spawn. _

_As the child was born, a wolf's howl could be heard throughout the world. The howl came from the Wolf Goddess, Moro No Kimi. Moro had just given birth to her three wolf cubs, but the Forest Spirit - the God of Life and Death - took the third, a female, away from this life. Moro's howl had come from nothing but pure grief. _

_The father, who was there helping his wife give birth, since the midwife was not there, heard the howl, and he thought, "The Gods are angry." He was wrong. The Gods were not angry. One Goddess was mourning the loss of her daughter, who was meant to become the alpha of her Clan. _

_As the mother gave one final push, the child fell from the womb into her father's arms. But as the father looked at his daughter, he recoiled in disgust. For the child, while having a human body, had the ears, eyes, and tail of a wolf. When the child screamed, the father saw sharp wolf fangs in it's mouth, instead of the empty gums that all babies have when they are born. _

"_The child has been cursed by the Spirits!" The man screamed. Despite his wife's protest that the child was not cursed, but blessed by Moro No Kimi, the man took the child, cleaned it off (for fear of bringing the wrath of Inari Okami, the Goddess of childbirth, upon him) wrapped it in blankets, and deposited it in the forest, to be eaten by the animals. _

_What he had not been expecting, however, was for Moro No Kimi to come along, and pick up the child and carry it back to her cave. From that moment on, the child became her child, and thus became the the Princess of the Wolf Gods, Láng shén de gōngzhǔ, in the ancient language, Ōkami kamigami no purinsesu in our language today._

~~Water~~

I finished, and I found Zuko staring at me, like I had been staring at him earlier. "What?"

"Is there anything else?" He asked. He didn't sound hostile, for once. He sounded curious.

"No. It's based on a true story, apparently, but my dad said it was a violent story, so he didn't want me reading it. That was when I thought my dad knew what was best for me, so I agreed, and when I came to my senses - six years later - I tried to find it again, but it was gone from the library." I shrugged. "I'll never know if there's more to it."

"Shame. It sounded like a good story." Zuko sounded... almost disappointed.

"You like stories?" I asked in surprise.

"If they're interesting, yeah."

I stared at him with wide eyes. Finally, I looked away. "Zuko?"

"Yes?" There's no hostility in either of our voices, and it puts me on edge, but at the same time it puts me at ease. It's weird.

"How come you're hunting the Avatar?"

Silence.

"Why do you want to know?" When he spoke, his voice is icy.

"Aang is my friend. If you want to hurt him, I want to know why." I said quietly.

More silence. "I need to regain something I lost three years ago." He said finally, not looking at me. "Capturing the Avatar and bringing him to my father is the only way to do that."

"You lost something?" I repeated. He nodded. "Do you need any help looking for it?" He shook his head.

"Sorry." He said, not sounding sorry at all.

I smiled. "That's alright. Anyway," I looked away from him and out across the water. The moon and stars reflected against the water, making a beautiful scene. "My dad told me once that things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end... if not always in the way we expect."

Zuko gave me an odd look.

I grinned. "It doesn't really make sense, does it?"

For a second, I thought I saw the ghost of a smile pass over his face, but it was gone almost instantly. "No, it doesn't."

I laughed. Then I became quiet. "Zuko, take off your armour."

He blinked. "What?" He sounded so confused, I nearly laughed again.

"Take off your armour."

For a moment he didn't say anything, but I saw his face getting a bit red. I instantly knew what he was thinking. I gave him a punch in the arm. "You're such a perv! I was not thinking about that! Just take off the stupid armour!"

He rolled his eyes - I noticed his face hadn't gotten any less red - but he unfastened whatever was keeping his armour in place, and I helped pull it off his chest. Underneath he was wearing a regular blackish red long sleeved shirt.

As soon as he was free from the armour, I set it on the ground. I stared at him for a moment. Then I reached down and took his hand gently. Slowly, I started moving it - to my chest.

And Zuko saw this. _"What are you doing?!" _He demanded, yanking his hand back. His face was getting redder.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't flatter yourself. Just trust me." I took his hand again, and I felt it tense, but he didn't pull away this time. I moved his hand and put it right over my heart, so he could feel it beating.

"Do you feel it?" I whispered. He slowly nodded. He clearly couldn't see where this was going. I used my other hand and put it against Zuko's chest, right over his heart. "I feel your heart beating." I slowly gave out one of the lines of a song I knew. _"In the moonlight I felt your heart, quiver like a bow string's pulse._ Zuko, we all have beating hearts and blood flowing through our veins. We're different. We're all different. But really, we're all the same. We live under the same sky, we see the same sun and moon and stars, and we're all the same race. So why do we fight so much?"

Woah. That was weird. I had no idea where that had come from. That had never happened before. I always knew what I was saying all the time, and why I was saying it. But this time, I really didn't know why I had said that. It was like some sort of alien force had taken over my brain.

I pulled my hand away and dropped his. I had clearly made things awkward. "I had no idea where that came from, I swear." I said, looking away from him, ignoring the blood that was rushing to my cheeks.

He shrugged, looking away as well. "It's fine."

I sat down and rested my back against the side of the ship. "Must be the moon light getting to me." I laughed.

Zuko sat down as well. I noticed he didn't put his armour back on.

We sat in silence for a moment, before I said, "We will never speak of this again."

"Agreed."

"In the morning, the truce will be over, right?" This calm sort of friendliness was making the hairs on my neck stand up.

"Right."

**I seriously don't know why I put in that last part... maybe I just needed to end the chapter or something. **

**So, yeah, next chapter the truce will be over. Get ready for more fighting! Fun, right?**

**I completely made up the stories! That's awesome, right? I got the translations for "princess of wolf gods" from this website that translates English to whatever language, and then to see what it sounded like I used google translate. If I got either translations wrong, I apologize. There's no one else around to tell me if I'm wrong, since I don't speak Chinese or Japanese, but I wanted to use Chinese and Japanese for some reason. I don't know, to make it seem more mystical or something.**

**And, for those of you who are wondering, no, Tora is NOT the Oracle. Didn't you hear? The Oracle isn't a bender. So HA! And she isn't a Diviner either. So don't you go around thinking she is, because she's not.**

**Oh, and I might possibly do a Legend of Korra fanfiction based on that story. I've had the idea for a while, but because of this story, and my other two stories, and school, I've never gotten to write it down on the computer. What do you think about this idea?**

**By the way, I apologize for my "Tora the mary-sue" chapter. But let me tell you, in my opinion, there's a fine line between a mary sue and an interesting character. So two out of 59 comments were negative. So what? But it ticked me off a little, I don't know why, but it did. So I apologize for that.**

**SEE YOU LATER! FUN STUFF HAPPENS NEXT CHAPTER! YAY!**

**Songs for This Chapter**

Princess Mononoke Theme (aka Nobody Knows Your Heart) - Sasha Lazard (From _Princess Mononoke _- awesome film, check it out).

Thumbs up if you saw the reference!


	22. Tora Loses It

**Tora Loses It**

**Well... here it is! Chapter twenty two!**

**So, after next chapter it will be **_**The Storm**_**. Because, as much fun as it is, I'm getting a little tired of making stuff up between episodes.**

**Disclaimer: Only own Tora. And the little OC's that appear. Like, the soldiers that I gave names to.**

I slowly opened my eyes. The first thing I became aware of was that I was freezing. Being a firebender, freezing is not a good thing. Of course, I wasn't just a firebender. I was a waterbender too. And as a waterbender, freezing is sometimes a good thing.

It's kind of unsettling to feel uncomfortable, but comfortable at the same time.

The second thing I was aware of was that my head was resting on something... hard. I slowly lifted my head off whatever it was, and I realized I was sitting on the ship's deck. _Must have not gone back to my room._ I thought. Then I realized what I had been using as a pillow.

It was Zuko's shoulder.

He seemed to wake up the same time that I did, and the realization that we were... _snuggling, _of all things, hit us at the same time. We both instantly practically flew away from each other, with me giving a small shriek as I scrambled backwards.

"What happened?" He demanded, quickly getting to his feet.

"How the hell should I know?" I snapped. The temporary truce was over. Now I could be as mean as I wanted. "I fell asleep!"

"So did I!"

It seemed that our shouting had woken up the others, and soon Iroh and the soldiers came stumbling onto the deck, rubbing their eyes blearily. We might be firebenders, and firebenders "rise with the sun", but that didn't mean we were all actually were pleasant in the morning.

"Whazgoin'on?" Katsu mumbled, rubbing his face.

"NOTHING!" Zuko yelled, before he grabbed his discarded armour and stormed away angrily.

"Geez, a little touchy in the morning, aren't you?" I muttered under my breath.

The truce was_ totally _over.

~~Water~~

Later on, I sat watching Zuko practice his firebending. Iroh sat next to me, both of us watching him practice. As much as I hate to admit it, he was good. Better than I was, anyway. I wanted to learn more. From Iroh. If anyone could turn me into a master, he could. Unfortunately, the one rule of Zuko's that Iroh could not or would not break was that he would not teach me any firebending. Zuko said that I could use the learnings against him and the soldiers and escape, and then he wouldn't have his bait for the Avatar anymore.

Well, it was true. I would jump ship as soon as I got the chance. But I fail to see the logic in me being bait for somebody who thinks I'm dead.

Absentmindedly, I began to make a flame flicker across my palm.

"What are you doing, Tora?" Iroh asked, glancing at me.

Not replying, I concentrated on making the flame bigger. After a second I got bored, so I started maneuvering the flame through my fingers and around my hand. Then when I got even more bored, I flicked my wrist, and a small water snake rose out of a water barrel nearby, ready for the trainer's to drink. I started maneuvering the water around the flames, and attempted to do something I had never done before. Slowly, I made sure the flame stayed in the center of my palm, and made it smaller than it was now. Using my other hand, I manipulated the water so it made a sort of sphere around the flame. "Careful..." I whispered.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

With a shriek of panic, the water splashed to the ground, extinguishing the flame in the process. I groaned in frustration, then looked up to see who had broken my concentration. Of course, it was Zuko. "I was _trying _to do a trick!"

"You're not allowed to be firebending on my ship!" The banished prince snapped angrily. When was he _not _snapping angrily?

"So? You're not the boss of me." I said stubbornly, sticking out my tongue at him childishly.

"You-" Zuko stopped his rage right after the first word of his sentence and looked up. I looked at where he was staring, and saw a coastline, the cliff's overlooking the beaches speckled with lush green trees. For a moment, I didn't see anything wrong.

But I did smell it. It took me a moment, but I detected something in the wind.

Burning flesh.

Then I saw the smoke pillar rising out of the trees. "What is that?" Zuko muttered to himself.

Then, a scream broke through my thoughts.

_**They killed us!**_

Apparently, I wasn't the only one who heard it, because instantly, Iroh had clasped his hands over his ears, looking like he was in pain. Zuko was at his side instantly. "Uncle, what is it?" He asked, sounding concerned for his uncle's wellbeing.

The screaming returned. _**They killed us!**_

_**Killed us!**_

_**Killed us!**_

I suddenly realized something. _It's inside my head! _

_**They killed us!**_

_**Killed us! **__**We**__** will kill!**_

_**We will kill them!**_

_Suddenly, I wasn't on the ship anymore. I was standing in the center of a black void of space. I could only see two things: Iroh, who was standing next to me and looking incredibly worried, and a shining ball of light in the center of the room, if that's where we were. It seemed to be the ball of light that was screaming. "Iroh, where are we?" I whispered to him. No response._

_I stood up straight. "Who are you? Who's out there?" I demanded. "Why are you spreading such hatred?"_

_More screaming. __**Kill them! Kill them!**_

_Slowly, I reached out to the ball of light, despite Iroh's sudden cry. "Tora, do not touch it!" I ignored him, and attempted to take the ball into my hands._

"_Where are you?" I whispered. "Can you tell me-"_

_**KILL!**_

_The sudden screech made me recoil, and the light seemed to glow brighter than before. Instinctively, I raised my hands in defense, to shield myself from the light. _

_Corpsesontheground - burningbuildings - childrensomanychildrendeadontheground - bloodohthere'sbloodeverywhere - somuchblood - peopleontheground - blankunseeingeyes-_

"NO!" I screamed, covering my eyes with my hands to block out the images. I had seen everything - _everything. _

Suddenly I realized I was back on the ship, on my knees, holding my head in my hands.

"Tora! Iroh! What's wrong?" I heard several soldiers call out in a rush of voices. Iroh and I seemed to be the center of attention at the moment.

"Did you see that?" I gasped.

"See what?"

Before I knew it, I was on my feet, calling to the soldiers and waving frantically. "HURRY! WE HAVE TO GET THERE IMMEDIATELY! GET THE RHINO'S SADDLED! GET THE SHIP TO LAND! WE HAVE TO HELP!"

**Third POV TEMPORARILY.**

"What a minute!" Zuko yelled, the first one to question Tora's order. The girl had run to the railing of the ship, racing past him, and leaned over the side. "This is my ship! You can't order people around like that! That's my job! And stop yelling, you're gonna put them all in a-"

Zuko stopped talking when a loud SPLASH was heard. He blinked, and noticed that Tora wasn't where she had been a moment before. "Panic…" He finished lamely. He rushed over to the side of the ship and looked over the railing, only to see Tora waterbending herself across the surface as fast as she could. "COME BACK HERE!" He yelled after her. Tora did not turn around, and instead started moving herself faster.

"What should we do, Prince Zuko?" Iroh asked, coming up beside his nephew. It seemed he had recovered from his momentary state of panic, and was now his calm, tea-loving self again.

Zuko was silent for a moment, before he finally grumbled, "Get the rhino's saddled up. We have to go after her."

Iroh nodded, smiling. "Good choice." He chose to ignore the curse word the Zuko muttered under his breath after he said that.

~~Water~~

**Tora's POV**

After reaching the beach, I didn't wait for Zuko's ship to catch up with me. I hit the beaches and started sprinting as fast as I could, barrelling through the trees that scratched my face and arms with their thick branches. _Such terrible sadness... and violent anger... _I shuddered, remembering the images I had seen. They had been horrible! I never wanted to see that again! But I was curious as to why only Iroh and I were affected.

I followed the path of the smoke pillar. It was easy to see, even through the trees that towered above me with their thick branches.

When I finally came to the village, I stopped running and leaned over, panting and trying to catch my breath. When I looked up, I was met with a horrible sight.

The village had been completely destroyed. Obviously it wasn't a battle. It was a massacre. There were no other warrior-types besides the Fire Nation soldiers that had been killed, and there weren't very many of them. All of the people besides the soldiers were either women and children, or just men with swords in their hands and a fearful look in their unseeing eyes.

"Oh, Spirits…" I whispered, looking back down. I felt bile rise up in my throat, and stumbled over to an empty area, where I was silently sick for a moment.

When I had gotten the vomit out of my system, I sort of just wandered through the streets, over the bodies of the women and children that had been cruelly murdered before their time. Tears started burning my eyes and clouded my vision.

I suddenly realized someone was screaming. It continued for a moment, before there was silence. I tensed and followed the sound, turning a corner. What I saw was horrifying. There was a little girl, probably not even seven, the same age as Lili was when I had left the South Pole. She was surrounded by Fire Nation soldiers, all of whom were laughing and jeering. The girl's body was covered in bloody wounds. One of the soldiers looked up and noticed me standing there. My eyes widened as I saw the dead girl's bright green eyes staring at me, unseeing. My mouth fell open a little.

I realized I was shaking. Angry tears started to spill down my cheeks, and I spotted a long cane-looking thing in the hands of a farmer. He had obviously been trying to defend himself. Without even thinking, I snatched up the cane. "I'LL KILL YOU!" I screamed, flying toward the soldiers, swinging the cane around like it was a sword. I was being fueled by pure fury. They reacted instantly, of course, pulling out their own swords. _So, they're nonbender soldiers. Don't see too many of those these days. _They tried to hit me with their swords, but I managed to dodge them all easily. They were dealing with the daughter of the best swordsmaster in Fire Nation history here! I hit them all with the hard end of the cane, some of them in the head, and others just in places I knew were their vital points. I think I hit one of them in the throat. I leapt over one of the falling soldiers toward one of the two still-standing soldiers and gave a battle cry that would have made Moro proud. As he tried to attack me with his sword, I hit the rain guard with the hard end of the cane, shattering it with unnatural strength. As soon as the sword shattered, I kicked the man in the chest, knocking him backwards and crashing his head against a stone wall. The last soldier standing dove towards me with his sword, but I blocked all his hits with the cane, and then swung the cane and cracked it against the side of his head.

"What's going on over there?" I heard someone call. More soldiers rounded the corner. They saw the bodies of their comrades on the ground, dead, and gasped. Then they lit fireballs in their hands. _Now we have some benders! _"YOU!" I screamed at them.

"Tora!" I heard Iroh yell. He was a ways away from me, but he could see what was happening from where he was rushing toward me. _So they finally caught up._ I ignored him, and lunged at the living soldiers, another battle cry coming from me.

Suddenly, a fireball hit the ground between me and the soldier I had been charging, stopping both of us. The surprise caught us both off guard, giving the others enough time to catch up with me. I felt a pair of arms circle around my waist and lift me from the ground, ignoring my thrashing. "Tora, calm down."

I blinked in surprise. _Zuko?_

Iroh stood in between me and the soldier I had just been about to face, head on. Finally, I stopped thrashing in Zuko's arms, and instead started shaking. I had just gone temporarily insane. I had... _oh Spirits, oh Agni,_ I had _killed _somebody. No, not somebody, but a handful of men - _young _men, who, now that I had time to think about it, were probably just out of training. And I had killed them! They were probably only a couple of years older than me, and I had killed them all! They had families, people who cared about them, and I had killed them all mercilessly!

_I wasn't any better than Fire Lord Ozai._

"Calm down, Tora..." I heard Zuko mutter in my ear. Finally, I stopped shaking. The sword dropped from my hand, and I slumped in Zuko's arms, barely hearing his small cry of surprise. My eyes fell shut. I don't know if I fainted, or I was just exhausted, but either way, I was out like a light.

~~Water~~

"Zuko, get her back to the ship." Iroh said quietly to his nephew. "I'll take care of things here."

Zuko, for once, didn't question his uncle's orders and nodded, before turning around. After a moment of shifting her around, the banished prince finally got the waterbending girl in a comfortable position in his arms. Glaring as he heard soft snickers from his soldiers, he walked back to the ship, holding Tora bridal style. Katsu and Ryuu joined him, and they walked together in silence.

Finally, Katsu grew tired of the silence and spoke out. "That was kind of awesome." Both Zuko and Ryuu glared at him. "Oh, come on! Don't tell me you weren't thinking it! She just took down all those soldiers using just some cane! And she was going to charge the bending soldiers with just a sword! Don't tell me that wasn't awesome!"

More silence. Then Ryuu spoke. "It was kind of awesome."

~~Water~~

_There were two of me. But they were different me's. _

_The first one had black hair, but it had a strange tint of blue. Her skin was white, like mine, but seemed to have a sort of pale greenish shade mixed in with it. She was smiling. Water streamed over her hands, around her arms like snakes, and her yellow eyes held a calm, peaceful feeling. Her dress was sparkling and white, but turned gold as it reached the bottom, and she wore a white shirt with one strap over it. _

_The second Tora looked a little more like me... But I was scared of her. Because this Tora had jet black hair that reached her waist and fell over her face in strands. Her skirt was made of fire, and it licked at the floor and tried to stay away from the other Tora. Her shirt was black and strapless, and it showed too much cleavage. One hand held a large flame, while the other held a golden dagger designed to look like fire. _

_She wasn't me. But I felt a connection to her. I felt a connection to both of them._

_The waterbender Tora started speaking. Her voice was calm and soft, and radiated peace. Like water. __I am more like you than the other. You know it. You feel it in your soul. _

_It was true. I felt my soul tugging toward her. But my soul was also tugging toward the firebender Tora, who was laughing. Her laugh was mine - but it wasn't. __**Water is the inferior element! You know it! Everyone knows it! If you choose me, you can help Aang master the four elements and stop the war! I am you! You are me! **_

_No. Don't listen to her. Water is you. You're not fire._

"_But I am fire!" I protested. "I'm Fire Nation!"_

_The firebender Tora nodded in approval. __**You speak the truth! You are Fire Nation! You are fire! You must choose me, or Aang will not master firebending, and the war will not stop! If you don't choose me, the war will be your fault!**_

_The waterbender Tora shook her head. You are Fire Nation - that does not mean you are a firebender.__ The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything. This is you._

_**NO! The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want. That is you! You know it is! If you choose me, you will be powerful! **_

_Choose me._

_**Choose me!**_

_Choose me._

_**Choose me!**_

_Choose me._

_**CHOOSE ME!**_

I woke up screaming. Tears were streaming down my face, but I didn't know why.

Why had there been two me's? One was a waterbender, the other was a firebender, that much was obvious. What did they mean, "choose me"? Why would I have to choose one or the other? I would never have to do that. I would have both elements for the rest of my life.

Right?

Once I had finished screaming, I rubbed my face, trying to get rid of the tears. I hated crying. Especially when I was the one crying.

"Tora?" I looked up and saw Iroh standing in the doorway, holding a cup of tea. "Are you feeling better?"

I shrugged. I didn't know what to feel. "As better as can be expected." Pulling my knees up to my chest, I rested my chin on my knees. "Did you feel like this the first time you killed someone?"

His answer surprised me. "No." I turned to look at him, and saw that he had taken a seat next my bed. "The first time I killed someone, I was the stereotypical firebender - never caring to take a life." He shrugged. "But as I grew older, I grew wiser, and I began to resent the day I ever joined the army."

I rested the side of my head on my knees. "Iroh, that thing that happened, earlier today-"

"Yesterday, actually." Iroh corrected me.

"Alright, the thing that happened yesterday, what was that? How come only you and I were affected?"

Iroh looked forlorn. "That was the effect of the hatred in the air, caused by the Fire Nation soldiers that attacked that village. The reason only you and I were affected is because you and I are the only ones on the ship to have ever gone into the Spirit world. Anybody who has been to the Spirit world can hear the voices."

Slowly, I nodded. Then what he said hit me. "You've been to the Spirit world?" I asked in amazement. "I didn't know that!"

"I'm not surprised. Nobody knows." Then he gave me a look that made me feel like he was trying to read my thoughts. "You've been to the Spirit world?"

I bit down on my lip. "Yeah. A few weeks ago, Aang helped out this village that had a little Spirit problem. And while the Spirit was attacking the village, Sokka and I were taken into the Spirit world as... hostages, I guess."

Iroh was giving me an odd look. "What was your experience like?"

I blinked. I had not been expecting that question. "I don't remember."

"Don't remember?"

"Well... I've tried. But it's like," I waved my hands in a vaguish way. "It's like the first three years of a kids life. Just a black blur. Like that."

"That's very odd." Iroh frowned.

I shrugged. "It's not like I care. Nothing important happened when I was there anyway."

**Oh, Tora. You are so wrong about that.**

**So, Tora was driven by rage and killed some people. Does that make her a Mary Sue? Maybe it does. I don't know. All I know is that the fighting scene was inspired by **_**Nausicaa: Of The Valley of the Wind.**_** If you haven't seen it or read the manga, I suggest you should, 'cause it rocks.**

_**Songs for this chapter**_

The Furies - from _Princess Mononoke_

Cursed Power - from _Princess Mononoke_


	23. The Storm and Zuko's Tale

**The Storm and Zuko's Tale**

**Wooh! Chapter 23! 21 if you don't count the two author's note chapters. Sorry about those...**

**Anyway, you don't come here to listen to me chatter! On with the story!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything but Tora and the little OC's that come in every so often. Everything else belongs to Nickelodeon.**

It had been a few days since my little... episode, if that's what you could call it. Since then, Iroh's been helping me out with the guilt, and I've gotten better. As better as can be expected, as I had told him those few days ago. Zuko has been... surprisingly _nice_ to me, actually. Maybe he's starting to feel bad about treating me like he had been treating me.

Or maybe he was just scared I'd go all "Tora's Crazy Rage" on him, as all the soldiers and men on the ship have been calling it.

It was probably that.

Either way, I was glad to have him off my back.

Anyway, I had been having a crazy dream. It was like a collaboration of that dream I had before the others and I saw the Southern Air Temple - the one where I was running through a forest, and I had to choose a jewel, but it ended up being a dead bird - and the dream I had a few days ago, the one where I had to choose between two me's. It was kind of crazy. First I had been running through the forest, and the two me's had been flying in the air above me. They had been fighting, fire and water everywhere. I had tried to get them to stop fighting, but then...

I had woke up.

Seriously. Right at the climax of my dream, I had woken up.

Don't you just hate that?

Anyway. Deciding I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, I got up earlier than I had intended to, got dressed, walked out the door... and slammed right into Zuko.

Pulling away from him, I grinned up at him. Even though we had told each other the truce was over that morning a few days ago, we had been getting along on better terms... sort of. "Good morning, Zuzu!" I said cheerfully. I was about to walk past him, but he stood in the doorway, glaring down at me.

"Don't call me that." He said through clenched teeth.

I raised an eyebrow. "Why not, Zuzu?"

He scowled. _Someone's in a bad mood today. _Unlike me. For whatever reason, I was in a rather good mood that morning. It was weird. Usually in the morning, I was basically a Demon - snapping at the first person who talked to me. It was almost always Zuko, so I didn't feel too bad about it. "I said, don't call me that."

I rolled my eyes. "I can call you whatever I want. You're not the boss of me. Now, if you excuse me..." I shoved past him and walked down the hallway that was lit up with an ominous red lighting from the lanterns.

I walked up the stairs and onto the deck, where Iroh was standing and looking at the sky with a worried expression. Taking a position next to him, I looked up as well. "What's wrong?" Zuko came out onto the deck and started looking through a long telescope, observing the sky.

"There's a storm coming. A big one."

The words, though simple, left an ominous feel. I frowned as I looked at the sky. It was one of the best looking days I had ever seen. The sky was the perfect shade of blue, not too light, not too dark. Seagulls and other birds were flying around, making noise in the otherwise silent sky. The sun was beating down, making me shield my eyes with one hand. "Are you sure?" I asked, frowning slightly. "How can you tell?"

"I can feel it." He placed a hand on his stomach. "In my belly."

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "In your belly?" I repeated skeptically.

"Yes. When you're as old as I am, you'll start sensing things that you never did when you were young."

After staring at him again, I shrugged. "If you say so."

"You're out of your mind, uncle." Zuko snapped, glaring at us from his telescope. "And you," He looked directly at me. "You're out of your mind for believing his nonsense. The weather's perfect. There's not a cloud in sight.

"Oh, I'm out of my mind, am I?" I muttered to myself.

Iroh continued. "The storm is approaching from the north. I suggest we alter our course and head southwest."

"We know the Avatar is traveling northward, so we will do the same." Zuko said, turning back to the sky.

"Really?" I asked, barely able to contain my hope. Maybe now I could be reunited with my friends.

"Prince Zuko, consider the safety of the crew!" Iroh exclaimed, giving me a look that said, 'don't encourage him'.

"The safety of the crew doesn't matter!" Zuko yelled, finally losing patience. My eyes narrowed as he said this. How dare he... so finding the Avatar was more important than the safety of his own Nation's people, was it? I suddenly realized that Lieutenant Jee was standing on the deck, glaring at us. No, he was glaring at Zuko, not us. Clearly, he had heard Zuko's outburst. Zuko turned around and saw the Lieutenant glaring at him, and the banished Prince began walking up to Jee until he was in Jee's face. "Capturing the Avatar is more important than any individual's safety."

"Even your own?" I couldn't help but ask. "Capturing Aang is more important than anybody's safety?"

Zuko slowly turned to look at me, and I stared back at him calmly. He began walking toward me, and I clenched my fists, ready for a fight if I needed to fight. But he just walked right on by, only stopping when he reached the door. Without looking over his shoulder, he stood in the doorway. "Yes." Then he entered the ship and slammed the door behind him.

"He didn't mean that." Iroh said to both Jee and me. "He's just worked up."

"Yeah, sure." I scoffed in annoyance. Jee didn't look like he believed it either, the way he was currently scowling.

~~Water~~

I blinked as I watched the dark gray ominous looking storm clouds roll into the sky, covering the normal shade of blue. The birds had all disappeared. Jee, Ryuu, Katsu, and one other soldier were staring at the sky. Zuko stood at the other end of the ship, glaring at the storm cloud. As if_ it _was the cause of all the problems in the world. I was shocked that Iroh had been right.

"Well, it looks like your uncle was right about the storm after all." Jee said sneeringly at Zuko.

"Lucky guess." Iroh shrugged, grinning. I rolled my eyes, but I was grinning too.

Zuko crossed the deck, quickly standing in front of Jee and glaring up at him. He jabbed two fingers into Jee's chest. "Lieutenant, you better learn some respect. Or I will teach it to you."

I clenched my fists, glaring at him. I was getting so sick of his "high and mighty, look down on everyone" attitude. It seemed Jee didn't like it either. Iroh started making decapitating movements with his hands, looking incredibly worried. Jee ignored him. "What do you know about respect?" He demanded. "The way you talk to everyone around here, from your hard working crew to your esteemed uncle, and to Tora - who you captured against her will, twice - shows you know nothing about respect. You don't care about anyone but yourself! Then again, what should I expect from a spoiled prince?"

Iroh groaned and put a hand over his face, while Zuko turned around and glared at Jee. "That _girl_-" he gestured to me. "Is nothing more than a peasant!"

I snarled, eyes narrowing. "I may be a peasant," I said, imitating the way he said it. He sounded like he had been saying 'Ozai's underpants'. "But I am a Fire Nation citizen. If this is how you treat your people, then I will _dread_ the day _you_ become Fire Lord."

Zuko let out a yell, and raced toward me. Although I could have handled him, Jee stepped in front of me, assuming the firebending stance. Zuko took on the stance as well, and then they're wrists were scraping against each other, steam coming out of Zuko's palm.

Iroh quickly stepped in between them. "Enough!" He yelled, startling me. He continued in a calmer tone. "We are all tired from being at sea for so long. I'm sure after a bowl of noodles everyone will feel much better."

I scowled, but left with Jee and the other men anyway. I heard Zuko snapping at Iroh as I left. Something about Zuko not needing help keeping order on his ship. "That boy," Jee began angrily. "Is..." He was so angry he couldn't even come up with anything to say.

"Thanks for that." I said quietly.

Jee grinned at me. "Don't mention it."

Katsu ruffled my hair fondly. "Yeah, Tora! There's no way we would let you get in trouble for something as minor as that! Trust me, we've heard worse things said on this ship. Zuko's just in a mood today." He said as Ryuu patted my back so hard I nearly went flying.

"Wonder why." I said to myself, rubbing my chin thoughtfully.

"Who cares?" Jee muttered.

~~Water~~

Later that night, I sat around a flaming barrel, drinking a cup of tea with Jee, Katsu, Ryuu, and a few other men. It had started out as just a quiet after-dinner chat, but then it somehow turned into a complaining fest about Zuko.

"I'm _so _sick of that kid!" Ryuu yelled, waving his hand around in the air. He was holding a bottle, probably filled with _sake_. "He thinks just because he's the prince of the Fire Nation and the son of the Fire Lord that he can boss us around all the time!"

_Isn't that a very good reason to think he can boss us around? _I asked myself internally. I didn't say it out loud, though. I didn't need to add more flames to the fire.

"He's so annoying all the time, thinking he can do whatever he wants!" Katsu added, taking a swig of his own _sake_. "I mean, he knows he was banished from the Fire Nation, so what does he do? He tries to cross over to Fire Nation waters - through a blockade! He could've killed us!"

"I'm sick of taking his orders, and I'm tired of following his Avatar!" Jee said angrily. "I mean, who does Prince Zuko think he is?!"

"Do you really want to know?" Iroh's voice suddenly came into the room. We all looked up, and saw The Dragon of the West staring at us from the top of the staircase. The orange light in the room illuminated his face very clearly. It was kind of scary, really.

We all instantly stood in respect. Jee was clearly embarrassed - or nervous. After all, he had been insulting Iroh's nephew. "General Iroh, sir, we were just-"

Iroh waved away his explanation. "It's alright. May I join you?"

"Of course, Sir." Katsu said, completely sober now. Ryuu seemed to be sober now as well.

Iroh walked down the stairs and took a seat next to me, giving the tea cup in my hands an approving nod. "You must understand, my nephew is a complicated young man. He has been through much." Iroh bowed his head for a moment, before he looked up at us. "Three years ago, when Zuko was thirteen," _So when I was twelve. _"There was a war meeting I was expected to attend. When I got there, however, I saw Zuko arguing with the soldiers guarding the room. I tried to tell him that there was nothing interesting happening in there, but Zuko told me that if he was going to run his Nation one day, he should start learning everything he could. I relented, but told him not to speak out. You see, the room was filled with old war generals, some of them having not seen a true battle in many years. I was one of those people. Those war generals could become rather sensitive if their plans were questioned. The meeting was going well, and I could sense that Zuko was rather interested in what he was learning. Until..." Iroh went silent all of a sudden.

"Until what?" Katsu looked at him sideways. I felt panic growing inside me. Whatever happened, it couldn't have been good.

"One of the generals was talking about a dangerous battalion of the strongest Earth Kingdom troops. He recommended using the 41st division against them, a division of the newest recruits our army had to offer."

I gasped in horror. _"No..."_ My voice was barely above a whisper. It seemed I was the only one who had dared to speak out against the silence. The rest of the men in the room were staring at the flames, though I could see the look of horror reflected in their eyes.

Iroh nodded. "Yes. The general said that while the earthbenders were fighting the 41st division, while the rest of the army there would mount an attack from behind. He said," The old general closed his eyes, before speaking through clenched teeth. "'What better to use as bait than fresh meat?'"

I felt like I was going to be sick. _That bastard..._

"Zuko spoke out against the general's plan. He told them that they couldn't sacrifice an entire division like that. He was met with disapproving silence. Zuko was right, you see, but it was not his place to speak out, and there were... dire consequences." Iroh lowered his head, looking sad at the memory. After Zuko's outburst in the meeting, the Fire Lord became very angry with him. He said that Prince Zuko's challenge of the general was an act of complete disrespect, and there was only one way to resolve this..."

"Agni Kai..." I whispered, my voice barely audible, even in the silence of the room. The only sound was the crackle of the flames. It took me a moment before I realized I was shaking in my seat.

"Fire duel." Jee muttered, looking horrified as well.

"That's right." Iroh said, closing his eyes. "Zuko looked upon the old general he had insulted and declared that he was not afraid. But Zuko misunderstood. When he turned to face his opponent, he was surprised to see it was not the General."

My head snapped up. If it wasn't the general, who could it have been?

"Zuko had spoken out against a general's plan, but by doing so in the Fire Lord's war room, it was the Fire Lord whom he had disrespected."

_No... oh no... no, no, no, NO! _I started screaming in my mind as the final piece of the puzzle clicked into place.

"Zuko would have to duel his own father."

I put a hand against my mouth, feeling bile start to rise up in my throat. _Agni, Koh, Hei Bai, Tui, La, Moro No Kimi, oh Gods, oh Spirits..._

"When Prince Zuko saw that it was his father who had come to duel him, he begged for mercy. Zuko said that he only had the Fire Nation's best interests at heart, and that he was sorry for speaking out of turn. The Fire Lord only said that Zuko would fight for his honor. Zuko simply knelt on the floor, in an attempt to show his father mercy. He said that he meant no disrespect to his father, and that he was Ozai's loyal son. Ozai ordered Zuko to rise and fight. Zuko only said that he would not fight his father. My brother." Iroh closed his eyes, looking incredibly saddened. "The Fire Lord said, "You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher." My nephew looked up at his father with tears in his eyes. And I looked away."

I imagined Zuko's pained scream. It echoed through my brain, rattling my eardrums. I felt tears start to run down my cheeks, but I didn't bother to wipe them away._ Oh, Zuko... I'm so sorry... _I thought._ I'm sorry for every mean thing I ever said or thought about you. What you had to go through is ten million times worse than what I had to go through. It doesn't even compare. _My father had never raised a hand against me, even when we were fighting our worst fights. And Zuko had been burned... and_ scarred _by his own father.

"I always thought Prince Zuko was in a training accident..." Jee said quietly, looking abashed.

"That's what he told me." I agreed, though I hadn't stopped my silent crying.

"It was no accident." Iroh said forcefully. "After the duel, the Fire Lord said that by refusing to fight, Zuko had shown shameful weakness. As punishment he was banished and sent to capture the Avatar. Only then could he return with his honor."

"So that's why he's so obsessed." Ryuu said in realization. "Capturing the Avatar is the only chance he has of things returning to normal."

"Things will never return to normal." Iroh disagreed. "But the important thing is, the Avatar gives Zuko hope."

I couldn't help but smile slightly. "He's always been good at that." I agreed softly, thinking of Aang.

The dead silence that followed was suddenly shattered by a loud BOOM!

"What was that?!" I yelled, quickly jumping off my seat.

"Everyone to the deck!" Jee yelled, everyone else quickly leaping off their seats and rushing up the stairs onto the deck. It was raining so hard I could barely see anything that wasn't within three or four feet of me. But I could see that Zuko was there as well.

"Where were we hit?" Zuko yelled.

"I don't know!" Jee yelled back. I suddenly heard someone screaming. Squinting and shielding my eyes from the rain, I looked up to where I had heard the screaming. I could only see a blurry figure hanging from the watchtower.

"The helmsmen!" Zuko yelled. Instantly, he and Jee were sprinting for the ladder, and scrambling to climb up onto it. I suddenly saw something yellow shooting toward the ship out of the corner of my eye. It was a lighting bolt... heading straight for Iroh. Before I could even scream, Iroh had somehow... redirected the lighting bolt into the water. That left him standing there, covered in ash, with his hair all electrified and sticking up everywhere, looking very confused. Or startled. Maybe both. Suddenly, Zuko and Jee were on the deck, next to me. Jee was helping the helmsmen stand.

Iroh sighed in relief. "I think-" Before he could finish his sentence, however, Zuko suddenly yelled out, "The Avatar!"

"What do you want to do, sir?" Jee asked, a new respect for Zuko in his eyes.

Zuko was silent for a moment as he considered. "Let him go." He said finally. "We need to get this ship to safety."

"Then we must head directly into the eye of the storm!" Iroh said, sounding pleased at his nephew's realization that the Avatar was not as important as the lives of the crew.

"HEAD A COURSE FOR THE EYE OF THE STORM!" Katsu screeched, rushing off to the steering room.

"AND STEP ON IT!" Ryuu yelled, racing after his friend. I couldn't help but laugh. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Zuko and Iroh were standing together, with Zuko looking almost ashamed of himself.

A sudden jolt of the boat knocked everyone off their feet. I looked up and saw a large, luminescent blue sphere of air rising out of the water, right where the bow of the ship was. Inside there was a vaguely humanoid form, that looked suspiciously like... Appa.

_Aang._

That was the only thought that flew through my mind as I stared up at the Flying Bison rising out of the sea into the air. I saw him. I mean, I saw Aang. He was looking back at us, and I followed his eyes to see he was staring at Zuko. Then when I looked back at him, I saw a look of pure shock flicker across his face for a moment.

_He saw me._

Aang saw me.

He knows I'm alive.

Or maybe he didn't see me. Maybe I'm just imagining things.

~~Water~~

Sokka held out one hand to the old fisherman in front of him. "Seriously, you're still gonna pay me, right?" In response, the old man dropped a fish into Sokka's hand, making the Water Tribe boy make a loud squeak.

"Katara, I think you were right before. I'm done dwelling on the past." Aang said to Katara at the mouth of the cave.

"Really?"

Aang shrugged. "I can't make guesses about how things would have turned out if I hadn't run away. I'm here now and I'm going to make the most of it." He grinned at her.

Katara smiled back. "I don't think you're gonna have those nightmares anymore."

Aang suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to see the old man standing there, looking awkward. "Uh, if you weren't here now, well, I guess I wouldn't be either. Thank you for saving my life, Avatar."

Aang grinned in response, before he remembered something. "Oh! You guys!" He turned to his friends with an urgent look on his face. "I just remembered something!"

"What is it?" Sokka asked, Katara looking a little concerned.

"I... think... I think I saw Tora on Zuko's ship." Aang blurted out.

This was met with two shocked expressions from both Water Tribe siblings. "Are you sure?" Katara asked, frowning slightly.

"Well, it was just for a second, and I couldn't see her very well, so I might be wrong-"

"Then you were wrong." Sokka interrupted, his shocked expression becoming stoney. "Tora's dead, Aang. You were just imagining things."

Katara nodded, though she was still frowning. "The lack of air caused you to hallucinate."

Aang looked away. "Maybe you're right." He said quietly.

**NO AANG! YOU WERE RIGHT! DON'T LISTEN TO 'EM! **

**Sigh. **

**END OF CHAPTER! NEXT IS THE BLUE SPIRIT! YAY!**

**Warning - more references to a certain movie in next chapter. Proceed with caution.**

_Song for this chapter_

Last Agni Kai - Avatar the Last Airbender soundtrack


	24. The Old Woman With The Stuff

**The Old Woman With The Stuff **

**Something's wrong with me. I keep making references to a movie that I'm sure at least half of my readers haven't seen. It's a shame, really. It's a good movie.**

**Sorry for the wait on the update. My family just moved to a new house, and I haven't been able to get access to wi-fi. Bleh. And then when we did get access to wi-fi, I didn't have any inspiration. **

**Disclaimer: Anyway, I don't own anything but Tora. And the little OC's that come in every so often.**

**All characters you recognize belong to Nickelodeon.**

**And Princess Mononoke and all other Studio Ghibli films I reference in this story belong to Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Obviously.**

An old woman flipped through her scrolls, scanning the paper for something. A grin suddenly spread across her face when she spotted something on a map of the world. She chuckled to herself as she tapped a small speck on the map. "Oh, this is gonna be fun. One boy wants herbs for sick friend. Poor dear. I'll give 'im a map. Another boy wants the Avatar. I'll give 'im a mask. That_ man_," She said 'man' with an air of disgust, as she curled her lips into a sneer. "Wants both the Avatar and to upstage that boy. I don't like 'im. Too greedy. And one girl," She paused, closing her eyes. "Wants to be reunited with her friends. She's a strong one, she is. Oh, yes," She laughed again. "I'll give her THAT mask." Silence, but the old woman reacted as if she had heard someone yelling at her. "Yes, THAT mask. Oh, and those other things. Yes, those other things. And I'll give 'em all to her in person! Yes, in person." The woman chuckled again. "This is gonna be_ fun_."

~~Water~~

"Why do girls always waste so much time looking at clothes?" Ryuu grumbled under his breath.

"And they're not even nice clothes!" Katsu agreed, looking very irritated.

I rolled my eyes, before looking away from the dress and toward the soldiers. "This information might come in very hand for you later in life, boys. _Girls like getting fancy stuff."_ We were standing in the middle of a village, getting some odd looks from the people passing us by. It did look very weird. Two men in Fire Nation armour – complete with the skull masks – and a girl who looked like she was from any other backwater Earth Kingdom village. Katsu and Ryuu were both holding two boxes of tea leaves each. I had promised Iroh that I would get him some tea. After we had gotten the tea, we were free to roam around and do whatever. And right now, the "whatever" we were doing was me looking at some clothes from a rundown looking stall, while they stood around looking bored. Not that anyone could tell from behind their masks.

"_But they're not fancy!"_ Katsu exclaimed.

It was true. The clothes I was looking at weren't fancy at all. It was a simple outfit that consisted of a very dark purple – so dark it almost looked black – tattered looking sleeveless dress, with an equally tattered off-white sleeveless shirt over it. It was hanging on a wooden – and very old looking – mannequin.

"It's nice looking." I protested. "And I like it."

"Like it?"

I jumped when I heard a woman's voice appear out of nowhere. Turning, I saw an old woman grinning at me. Her hair was frizzy and gray, and stuck straight out of her head at crazy angles. She was wearing a simple brown dress with a dark green shawl over it. In her hands she was carrying a broom, and she was sweeping at the ground furiously. I found it a little odd, given the fact that we were standing on a dirt road, so sweeping was kind of pointless.

"Yeah… I like it." I said awkwardly.

"Well, it's half off! Special sale for today only!" The woman said cheerfully, grinning and showing off some gaps in her teeth. "And I'll include the accessories for no more than three silver coins!"

"Accessories?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow. The woman nodded.

"Oh, wait, where'd I put them?" She muttered, disappearing into the back of her stall.

"Can we go now?" Katsu whispered in my ear, sounding distressed. "I've read a horror story about this once."

"I FOUND 'EM!" The woman shrieked as she came back out of her stall, making me jump again. Katsu just let out a girly screech, making Ryuu bust out laughing. "Here you go, pretty jewelry for a pretty lady!" She held up the accessories for me to see.

In the woman's right hand was a necklace of real wolf fangs – at least they looked like real wolf fangs, and I'm pretty sure they were – and black beads. It went in a pattern. Fang, bead, fang, bead, fang, bead, and so on.

In the woman's left hand was a pair of earrings. They were pretty much the most beautiful earrings I had ever seen. They were large circular disks, flashing in the sunlight. They were bright white, and looking at them, I got the feeling that they were made out of shells rather than… whatever earrings were usually made of.

"They're lovely." I murmured, reaching out one hand to take them.

"You can have the whole ensemble for only ten silvers!" She exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.

I turned to Katsu and Ryuu, holding out my hand. "Have we got any money left?"

"You're gonna spend money on that?" Katsu demanded in amazement, gesturing to the clothes and the accessories.

The look I gave him could have curdled milk.

"Got it." He mumbled, pulling out a small pouch and tossing it to me, nearly falling over under the weight of the boxes on one arm. I smiled at him, before turning back to the woman.

"Here ya go." I said, opening the pouch and dumping the coins into her hand. Not even two seconds after that happened, she threw the clothes in my face, and then threw the necklace around my neck and stuffed the earrings into my hand.

"Thank you for your purchase!" She said cheerfully. Then, as we were walking off, she frowned. "Oh, wait; there was one other thing…"

"What'd you say?" I asked, turning back around.

She waved vaguely. "Oh, I'm sure I'll remember eventually. And when I do, I'll be sure to find ya!" She waved us off.

"Okay… that was creepy…" Ryuu mumbled to himself.

"It wasn't so bad!" I protested, fingering one of the wolf fangs on the necklace. "I got some nice stuff."

"What about me?!" Katsu wailed. "I lost the last of my bet winnings!"

~~Water~~

I stared, slightly open mouthed, at the belongings on my bed. Katsu, Ryuu, and I had just returned from the market, and had given Iroh his tea (which he enjoyed very much) so I had been able to return to my room and put away the things I had gotten in the village. Imagine my confusion when I walked in and found things I had never seen before on my bed.

There was a mask that looked a lot like Moro's mask. Only this one would cover a person's entire face, with a white line where the edge of Moro's mask would have been. The eye holes were a lot more circular, with small black scar looking triangles sticking out of either end of both of the eyeholes. At the bottom of the mask, underneath the bottom white line, was a mouth hole. White fur hung off the back of the mask, and I knew that if I wore the mask, then nobody would be able to see my hair or my face. Sticking out of the fur was a pair of black and red wolf-like ears. Along with the fur was a cloak – not a normal cloak, though. This one was designed to hang from my shoulders, not from around my neck from a clasp. It didn't have any hood, and it reached my knees. The entire thing was made out of white wolf fur, and it would blend in perfectly with my mask's fur.

The things that really caught my attention were the wrapped packages. One was long and thin – more flat than thin, actually. As soon as I had seen it, I knew what it was. And when I had unwrapped it, I saw I had been right. It was a sword – a beautifully crafted sword, the blade covered by a plain black scabbard. It wasn't the sword that was beautiful, actually, but it was the craftsmanship. Whoever had made it could rival my father's talent for sword-making. It didn't look like any normal sword – or at least, what people usually think whenever they hear the word "sword". The hilt was simple, with a flat sort-of-cylinder-shape that looked like it was made out of wood, and painted red. There was also a metal ring around the end of the hilt, so whoever was using the sword could hang the sword from his or her fingers and hold something else in the same hand. The blade was shining silver, one part of the tip of the blade slanting down to another point.

There was also a knife. At first, I thought it had also been a sword, because it had a long scabbard that was made for a sword more than a knife. It had obviously been made by the same person as whoever had made the sword. The craftsmanship was the exact same. The knife was long – about eleven or ten inches – with a hilt that looked like it was made of wood, and painted red. The base of the knife had two small red triangles pointing up to the tip of the blade.

As I stared at the things on my bed, something caught my eye. It was a piece of brown paper. I picked it up, and saw some words scribbled onto the paper.

_I remembered what I forgot! You forgot these! Don't worry, no extra charge! Just be sure no one sees you wearing the mask. I suspect that you'll put all of these things to good use!_

_Oh, and by the way – don't tell anyone where you got sword and the knife! And be sure to watch out for the person wearing the Blue Spirit mask!_

_~ Woman from the clothing stall._

I stared at the note for a long time, before stuffing it into my pocket. How the _hell_ had she found me? I don't remember mentioning anything to her at all. Especially nothing about where I was currently living. And she had gotten here before us! How had _that _happened? Iroh would have noticed something and mentioned it. Anybody would have mentioned it. And I honestly doubt she had managed to get onto the ship without anyone seeing. There was only one way on the ship and one way off the ship. And I think Iroh – or anybody, really – would have seen an old woman and mentioned it to us.

I picked up the sword and the knife. They felt right in my hand. The sword wasn't as comfortable as my sword was to me, but the combo of the knife and the sword would be good in a pinch. If I managed to keep both the sword and the knife, and if I got my real sword back… I smiled to myself.

Well, enough standing around. I had to practice with them, get used to their feel.

I paused. I bought the clothes for a reason, I should wear them.

A few minutes later, I was dressed in the dark purple dress and the off-white shirt. They were surprisingly comfortable. Just because, I put on the necklace and the earrings. I liked the way they hung off my neck and ears, except they made a faint rattling noise whenever I moved. But it was okay. I had pulled a black cloth belt around my waist, and attached both the sword and the knife scabbards to it, so I wouldn't have to keep holding the weapons. The sword was on my left, and the knife was on my right.

I was standing on the deck of the ship, while Iroh sat playing Pai Sho with Lieutenant Jee. Every so often, their eyes would flicker toward me briefly, before looking back down at the game board.

"Where'd you get the swords again?" Ryuu asked, watching me. Katsu was standing next to him, looking oddly eager.

"I told you, I found them under my bed." I said for what felt like the hundredth time. I had decided to trust the woman who had wrote the letter, and hadn't told anyone where I got the weapons.

"And we're here because…?" Katsu asked, shifting his weight onto his right foot.

"You're both going to help me practice." I explained for what felt like the billionth time. "I haven't used my sword in _days,"_ I intentionally stress the last word. "And if I get too out of practice, I'll start to get rusty." That was true, but I wasn't telling the whole truth. I did want to practice, so I could do something other than play Pai Sho with Iroh or the guys, and so I wouldn't start getting rusty. But I also wanted to practice so that, if I didn't join my friends by the time they reached the North Pole, I would fight my way out of Zuko's ship and find them.

"I don't think I'd be the best person to help you practice, but okay…" Ryuu mumbled to himself, he and Katsu both pulling out their swords. They had never used them, as far as I had seen, but they told me they were excellent swordsmen, almost as good as Prince Zuko was. I put my hands on the opposite hilts of both my weapons – my right hand on the hilt of the sword, and my left hand on the hilt of the knife.

"Remember, all's fair – no rules. You're allowed to use firebending, I'm not, and we only stop if one of us is seriously injured." I said. Both males nodded in agreement.

They both came at me with their swords pointing directly at me. I instantly unsheathed both my weapons, holding the sword in my right hand and the knife in my left, and crisscrossed the blades of both the knife and the sword, holding them above my head. Then, as Katsu and Ryuu's swords came down on me, I uncrossed the weapons and blocked the soldier's swords, so all of the blades together made a square. Then, using all my strength, I pushed back against them. It caught them off guard, so they were knocked off their feet. Then, as they got back on their feet, looking a little more wary than before, they spread apart and came at me from different angles. I held up my sword to block Katsu, and used the knife to block Ryuu. The knife was well built, so the hilt, even though it was wooden, didn't break under the weight of the full grown man.

Then, taking both of them by surprise, I suddenly pulled my blades back and jumped out of the way, making both men stumbling into each other and knocking their heads against the others. As they untangled themselves from each other, cursing under their breath, I stifled a laugh.

"What are you doing?!"

I groaned, before turning around and smiling hugely. "Hi, Zuko!"

"I said, what are you doing?" The prince asked again, glaring at me.

"Practicing." I said, showing him my new weapons. I was expecting him to demand to know where I had gotten them. I was expecting him to get angry and try to take them from me. I was expecting him to order me to never use the weapons on his ship again, just like he ordered me to never bend on his ship unless it was an emergency.

What I was not expecting, however, was for him to take the sword from me and started holding it delicately, like he was weighing it. "Do you even know how to use this?" He asked, eying me.

"Do you even know who you're talking to?" I demanded, planting my hands on my hips, after re-sheathing the knife.

"All I did was ask you a question. Do you know how to use this?"

"Yes, I do."

Then he asked me another question I hadn't been expecting. "Who taught you?"

I shrugged, still feeling a little confused. "My dad."

Then, Zuko did something I had not been expecting at all. Even if Fire Lord Ozai had suddenly appeared on the ship and expressed his undying love for Iroh, and then started making out with Aang, which would cause Iroh to burst into tears and drown himself in tea (Don't laugh, I actually had a dream like that once) I wouldn't have been as shocked as I was right then, when Zuko did the exact thing that, as said before, I had not been expecting at all.

Zuko smiled.

That's right. He smiled. At me. And more importantly, he _smiled!_ AT _ME!_

_He has a nice smile. _I thought briefly. Then, as soon as I thought it, I internally punched whoever had taken over my thoughts and made me think that.

"Let's see if he taught you well." Zuko said, tossing the sword back into my hand. I caught it easily in my left hand.

Then what he had said sank in. "Wait, what?"

"You heard me." Zuko crossed his arms. "I want to fight you."

I stared at him blankly. "Really?"

"Scared?" He smirked at me.

"You wish."

"Then what's keeping you?" Zuko demanded. "We'll fight to see who's better. And no using the knife, it seems cowardly."

"If I was cowardly, I wouldn't be in a sword fight to begin with." I said. "Where's your sword, anyway?"

Zuko smirked, before he turned around. "I'll go get them."

"What are you planning, exactly?" Iroh called to me from where he was playing. "Zuko is a great swordsman - he needs to practice a little more often than he does, but he is very good at it."

I grinned. "I don't care if this sounds arrogant - he's going up against the daughter of the greatest sword master in the Fire Nation." Never mind that my dad wasn't from the Fire Nation. "If I don't beat him, it will at least be a tie."

**Not exactly my best chapter... but I'm still trying to get back in the mood. So bear with me for a while, okay?**

**So, yeah... Tora and Zuko are going to have a swordfight in the next chapter. Awesome! **

**I would have tried to finish the episode in this whole chapter, but I couldn't find the energy. It would have gotten really long if I had. And as much as you guys may want long chapters, they can get a little bothersome at times. So... yeah.**

**Next chapter contains scenes from the actual episode. **

**Thumbs up for you if you caught the reference! If you didn't... you are a poor, depraved person.**

_Songs for this chapter - _

The Witch's Cottage - _Brave, 2012_

**Next chapter will contain more songs, don't worry.**


	25. Fighting

**Fighting**

**Sorry for the wait. My family and I went to visit my great grandma for a week, and there's no internet connection there, so I couldn't upload this. Then we went to visit some friends, and we didn't bring the laptop, so I couldn't update this story. ^^'**

**ALSO, this chapter contains ANOTHER reference in it. Lets see if you can find it! I would be surprised if you did notice it though. But there's a chance you might have noticed it. Probably not, though.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Avatar the Last Airbender, no matter how much I want to.**

**I only own Tora and all the OC's that come in at different points in the story. **

**Princess Mononoke belongs to Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki.**

**OH! And, just to avoid confusion, I'll just tell you this now: When Tora and Ryuu and Katsu left to go to the village, let's just say that Zuko's ship was in port when Zhao's messenger came and gave Zuko the news about the Avatar and Zhao being and admiral. Okay? Okay.**

Zuko was taking too long to get his swords. So, I, being bored as I was, unsheathed my sword and started loosening up, thrusting my sword forward. I was enjoying the feel of my new clothes. They may not have been brand new, obviously they had been worn by someone before me - but that just made them even more comfortable. They were more free (for lack of a better word) than my usual black pants and red tunic.

Was it cheating if I was the daughter of the best swords master in the Fire Nation? Was it cheating if Zuko didn't know that? Probably. Was I going to enjoy this fight (even if I did lose)? _Hell_ yes.

"ZUKO, LET'S GO!" I yelled, still practicing my moves. "WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG?"

"I'm afraid you'll just have to wait!" He yelled back. I was a little surprised that he had heard me, since his room was as far away from the ship's deck as you could get. He had requested it that way, not that I was surprised.

"I hate waiting." I muttered to myself.

"How are you going to fight him?" Katsu asked me.

"I'm going to fight him left handed."

"Why?"

I shrugged. "It's the only way I can be satisfied. If I use my right," I held up my right hand. "It's over too quickly."

After a few more minutes of -_ ugh_ - waiting, Zuko finally came up the stairs, wearing his training clothes (which involved him shirtless), holding two swords in his hands. They were twin broadswords, matching each other perfectly - if the name "twin broadswords" didn't give it away - long and sharp, with an edge at the top that curved inward, if that makes sense. I hadn't practiced with those very much when I was younger - I enjoyed holding one sword as opposed to two swords. With one hand free, you were freer to do what you wanted, but if you had two swords when your opponent only had one, then you had the upper hand.

"So, are we doing this?" Zuko asked, holding up his swords. **(Is it just me, or did that sound wrong?)**

"Wait -" I held up a hand, frowning. "How come you get two swords and I only get one?" I was trying very - _very_ - hard to not blush at the sight of Zuko's bare chest.

Oh, shut up!

"Because my swords are meant to be together. They're two halves of a whole. Your's aren't. They're separate." Zuko said, sounding like he was explaining this to a child.

"That's not fair!" I protested.

Suddenly, he smirked. "You're just trying to get out of fighting me, aren't you?"

You can imagine I didn't like that.

I ground my teeth together. "You - just - _you_-" I managed to spit out. Finally, I managed to regain my senses, and I spoke again in a calmer tone. "You should _not _have said that."

Zuko sighed, looking up at the sky in exasperation. "If you really feel that way about the swords, I'll only use one."

Why does Zuko keep surprising me today?

~~Water~~

**Third Person POV**

It seemed that everyone on the ship had heard about Zuko and Tora's sword fight, and had come up onto the deck to watch. Katsu had wasted no time in setting up a gambling booth (though really the "booth" was just the Pai Sho board that Iroh had set up on deck) and already the soldiers, cook, and mechanics on the ship were tossing in their money. So far, it was half and half.

"So, everyone's betted?" Katsu said, sounding surprisingly serious for once. When everyone nodded, the firebender stood up, cupping his hands over his mouth. "OI! YOU CAN START THE FIGHT NOW!"

Tora's eye twitched. Zuko scowled.

Slowly, the two of them got into their positions. Tora held her sword with both hands (left hand clenched tightly over the pommel, with her right hand holding onto the grip), while Zuko chose to use one hand. Everyone became silent, watching as Tora's eyes narrowed in concentration. She was holding the sword at an odd angle, holding it so it pointed down at the ground in a diagonal way. Zuko, on the other hand, was holding his single sword in the "normal" way - holding it by his side, pointing it at her. Tora's hands shifted, so now her left hand was holding onto the guard of the hilt, and her right hand was covering the pommel.

For a moment, neither of the two sword wielders moved. Then, Tora darted forward, her long black hair streaming behind her. Zuko instantly swung his sword out at her.

_Chnk - __**KLANG!**_

Everyone jumped at the sound of the two separate noises - Zuko included.

Tora had suddenly stabbed her sword into the deck - the _metal_ deck - and it had sank a centimetre or two into the deck. And it stayed. That was what had made the _chnk _noise. Zuko hadn't seen it in time, so the momentum of his sword swing had caused his sword to clash against Tora's blade (causing the _klang_ noise), while Tora...

Tora suddenly felt a rush of strength. There was a roar in her ears that sounded like the rush of waves crashing against the rocky shore...

And the next thing everyone knew, she had suddenly flipped into the air, going at least a metre above Zuko's head. Her back was arched concavely, and her head was thrown back, and she was grinning at Zuko from her place in the air.

Despite her appearance, Tora was startled by her sudden movement as well. She suddenly tucked her knees into her chest and landed on the ground in a crouch, before darting forward and managing to pull her sword out of the deck, leaving behind a deep tear in the metal floor. Then, as soon as Zuko had been brought back to earth, he swung his sword forward, aiming for Tora's head. She blocked it, however, and then jumped into the air, dodging a swing from Zuko. Their swords clashed together, and their faces were an inch away from each other.

"You're amazing!" Zuko said, smirking at his opponent as he pulled away.

"I ought to be, considering who my father is." Tora replied, grinning.

"Who's your father?"

"I think I'll keep that information to myself."

The fight was mostly made up of swings, blocks, aiming, jabbing, and clashing. It was an even fight.

"I admit, I think you're almost better than I am." Tora said, grinning as Zuko started pushing her back.

"Then why are you smiling?"

"Because I know something you don't know."

"What's that?"

Tora grinned again. "I am not left handed." Sure enough, as she tossed her sword into her other hand, she started fighting even better than she had been before. Their swords kept clashing and clanking, while the soldiers and Iroh watched the fight in amazement. All the people who had bet were watching with terrified expressions on their face, waiting in agony to see who would win and who would owe who money.

Suddenly, Zuko was pinned against the side of the ship, Tora leaning into him and keeping him from fighting back.

"There's something I ought to tell you!" Zuko yelled, struggling to break free.

"What's that?" Tora asked, raising an eyebrow.

Zuko smirked at her. "I'm not left handed either." He suddenly elbowed her in the stomach, and as Tora was knocked backward, winded, Zuko tossed his sword into his right hand. Then, they were both lunging forward, moving in a way that almost looked like dancing.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to hit a lady?" Tora snapped, glaring at him.

"Yes. But you're hardly a lady." Zuko shot back.

The soldiers watching the fight started to snicker, but quickly stopped at the look Tora sent them. She quickly turned her attention back to Zuko. Tora was moving like lightning, and she thrusted forward, slashed, and darted back, all in almost a single movement and -

Zuko was dodging, blocking, and again he thrusted forward, faster even than before, and again he slashed.

On it went, back and forth across the ship's deck, both fighters feet moving with the grace and speed of great improvisational dancers.

Suddenly, an idea lit up in Tora's brain. She eyed Zuko's bare chest for a moment, (not in_ that _way) before she suddenly jabbed the flat of his sword so hard it knocked it out of the prince's hand, sending it clattering across the ground. While Zuko scrambled to get his sword back, Tora suddenly started pulling on her white shirt, pulling it off over her head, showing off the dark purple dress underneath. Despite the tattered-ness of the dress, it was surprisingly revealing. The top clung to her body, rather tightly, and was - surprisingly - a deep v-neck, and exposed a fair amount of cleavage. Zuko turned around, holding his sword, and then took one look at Tora and stopped.

Tora shifted. Despite the fact that she was the one who had chosen to reveal the dress underneath the baggy shirt, she was feeling a little uncomfortable as she watched Zuko's eyes travel up and down her body. Then, she took advantage of Zuko's distracted state, lunged forward, and knocked him to the ground. Before she could plant a foot on his chest and keep him down, however, he quickly rolled out of the way and got back to his feet, making sure to look at her face and her hands instead of her chest.

And so, the sword fight went on, with Zuko and Tora lunging and swinging and slashing and jabbing at each other nonstop. A few of the soldiers had gotten bored, and so started playing a game of Pai Sho. The rest of the men, including Iroh, continued to watch the fight, eager to see who would win.

The fight went on for what felt like hours, until finally, both Tora and Zuko were struggling to catch their breath. Iroh noticed this, and then noticed where the sun was in the sky.

"Should we stop for lunch?" He called out to the two fighters.

Neither of them hesitated to stop fighting, and both stood up straight.

"Should we call a tie, then?" Zuko asked.

Tora shrugged. "Better than passing out from dehydration."

And so the two of them bowed Fire Nation style to each other, and the next thing anyone knew, they were gulping down water from the water barrel as if their lives depended on it.

Once she was better, Tora sighed, and picked her shirt up from the ground. _I am never going to do that, ever again. _She thought as she pulled the baggy off-white shirt over her revealing dress top.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, Katsu spoke up. "So... who won the bet?"

~~Water~~

**Tora's POV**

I rolled my eyes at Katsu's childishness. The soldiers who had bet started mumbling things to each other, as if they were trying to figure it out as well. I noticed Jee was kneeling on the metal floor, running his hand over the deep dent my sword had made in the floor when I had stabbed my sword into it. "How the hell did that happen?" He muttered to himself, before he glanced back up at me. "How strong_ are _you?"

I frowned. Then my eyes widened. "No way!" I said excitedly.

"What?" Zuko demanded, looking a little sore from his loss.

I ignored him, and chose to look at my sword instead. After inspecting it for a moment, my eyes widened again, and a grin split across my face. It couldn't be - but it was! I hadn't noticed it before, but the blade of the sword was a shining light silver color, almost white. I held it up, and noted that it was incredibly light, lighter than my old sword had been. "It is!"

"What is?" Zuko asked, now looking confused.

"Look at this!" I squealed, handing the sword over to him. I was practically bouncing in place, I was so excited. I couldn't believe it!

Zuko inspected the sword, his confused expression becoming more bored. "What's the big deal?" He asked.

My mouth fell open in disbelief. "Are you _joking_? Do you seriously _not_ know what this sword is _made of?_"

"Should I?"

I blew my bangs out of my eyes in frustration, before taking the sword - _my sword!_ - back from him. "This sword," I said, adopting a tone that most used when they were explaining something to a very small child, or a very stupid person. "Is made of _xerconian ceramic._ Do you know what that means?"

Zuko looked at me blankly.

"It _means _that this sword is lighter, stronger, and_ better_ than any other sword in the world - except, of course, swords made out of ohmu shell." I paused, then grinned. "It could cut through your men's armour like it was made of paper."

Zuko suddenly turned pale. "Where did you get it?" He demanded, in a strange, strangled sounding voice.

"I told you, I found it under my bed." I lied calmly. Then I lifted the sword up, inspecting it as it caught the flashing of the sun. I stared at it in amazement. "But how could it be made of xirconian ceramic? Sword makers stopped using it about a thousand years ago, a hundred years after they stopped making swords out of ohmu shell."

"What on earth are ohmu?" Zuko demanded.

"Ohmu's were giant creatures, a little bit like a cross between a pillbug and a crustacean, and they went extinct because people kept using their shells for swords and weaponry." I said calmly, still inspecting the sword.

Then the Fire Nation prince brought up a completely different topic. "Who was your master?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Who said anyone taught me? Maybe I taught myself."

Now it was Zuko's turn to raise an eyebrow.

I couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you!" I stopped laughing after a moment, but I was still grinning. "I was taught by Piandao of the Fire Nation." But before, he had been Arrluk of the Water Tribe.

Zuko's mouth dropped open, and he stared at me in disbelief._ "Are you joking?" _He said, almost in a whisper.

"Nope."

"How - how in_ Agni's name_ did you learn from _him_?"

I paused, contemplating on whether or not to tell him the truth. Then I shrugged. It couldn't do me any harm. "He's my dad."

Zuko looked like he was going to pass out any moment.

"You've gotta be kidding." He finally mumbled, looking so amazed and shocked and confused all at the same time. It was actually kind of... cute.

_Gah! No! Where did that come from?!_

"Nope!" I grinned proudly.

Zuko finally nodded, before he sighed. "I'm not going to be able to get the weapons back, am I?"

"Not a chance in hell."

Zuko sighed again. "Figured as much."

~~Water~~

Later that day, when I had finished my lunch, and everyone else was still eating, I was lying on my bed, staring at both my sword and my knife.

There was no doubt about it. The knife was made of ohmu shell.

Ohmu went extinct a thousand years ago. I had read it in my dad's books, and he had told me about it himself. The only swords left that were made of ohmu shell were either in a Fire Nation museum, or were lost in the ruins of an ancient civilization.

There was no doubt in my mind now, that the old woman who had given me all this stuff was a Spirit.

It was amazing that I hadn't figured it out earlier.

Then, I thought about Zuko. I had thought he had been cute! I don't think boys are cute! I've never once in my life come across a boy who I thought was cute! That's not my fault, though. Sokka made me prejudiced against what he called the "dominant sex". Plus, when I had reached the age that I was supposed to start thinking boys were cute, I had been shipped out to the Water Tribe and met Sokka, who again, biased me against boys.

I paused, thinking about it again.

_The sun was getting to me. _I finally decided. _It wasn't my fault that I had thought those things about Zuko being... cute. The sun and seeing Zuko shirtless became one in my mind, and so I thought he was cute. That's it. That's all it was._

**Lame way to end a chapter... but then again, this was a lame chapter. So a lame ending to a lame chapter. **

**God, the sword fight was lame. I apologize for that. I was being stifled for creativity because of my lack of internet connection. If I had had the internet, I would have made the sword fight better. **

**NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE EPISODE, I SWEAR! Just put up with me until then! Okay?**


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